The government announced the formation of the new body in the wake of the deadly Wang Fuk Court fire last year, and it aims to help homeowners with building maintenance and renovation works. The council will be set up by the end of the year, offering a paid service to handle tendering and evaluation on their behalf.
Speaking on a TV programme on Sunday, Linn said the new staff will include professionals, technical staff, as well as support and administrative personnel.
“We want to begin recruitment now so that new hires can be onboard as quickly as possible, and the goal is to have all these staff join in phases and be fully in place between the beginning and the middle of next year.”
On whether to adopt the two-envelope approach for projects – which assesses the technical aspects and the price separately – the development minister said that could be applied to more complex projects.
And she doesn’t believe it would raise the price tag.
“The two-envelope system mainly depends on the weighting which is predetermined, and ultimately, quality is guaranteed, and it won’t drive up prices as a result.”
Linn noted that penalties and spot checks would be strengthened, and will not rule out the possibility of introducing a demerit points system in the future.
Separately, she said more than 1,000 training-related applications had been approved under the Construction Innovation and Technology Fund as of September.
The government established the fund in 2018, entrusting the Construction Industry Council to finance construction technology training programmes for companies and organisations.
Writing in a blog post, Linn said the total funding amount reached HK$50 million, benefiting more than 400 companies and organisations.
She noted that more than 4,500 people have enrolled in courses offered by the Construction Industry Council over the past three years.
The development chief stressed her bureau will continue to promote local training and drive the use of technology to raise overall construction productivity.
