LUSA 07/01/2025

Lusa - Business News - Portugal: Hong Kong to promote public housing construction technology

Hong Kong, China, June 30, 2025 (Lusa) - The government of the semi-autonomous Chinese region of Hong Kong announced on Monday that it aims to promote the use of technology in public housing construction in Portugal.

According to a statement, Hong Kong authorities will organise a business lunch in Portugal on Thursday called “Unveiling New Horizons: Affordable Housing and Opportunities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area”.

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area is a Beijing project to integrate Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into a region with more than 86 million inhabitants and an economy worth more than €1 trillion by 2023.

The Commissioner for the Development of the Greater Bay Area, Maisie Chan Kit Ling, will give a speech on “the enormous business opportunities” that the regional project offers to Portuguese entrepreneurs.

The event will “share Hong Kong’s experiences in increasing the quantity, speed, efficiency and quality of public housing construction through the adoption of various innovative rapid construction and robotic technologies”.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Housing, Winnie Ho Wing Yin, has invited more than 20 representatives from the construction sector in the region and mainland China to participate in the event.

These companies will discuss technologies such as prefabricated modules, the integration of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing installations, and the use of robots in civil construction.

The event could serve “to strengthen links between the sectors in Hong Kong and Portugal and explore business opportunities,” the statement said.

Maisie Chan and Winnie Ho will also participate in the 17th International Forum on Urbanism, which will take place between July 1 and July 4 at the renovated Portugal Pavilion, now managed by the University of Lisbon after renovation work carried out by architect Siza Vieira.

The political programme of the new Portuguese government, led by Luís Montenegro, provides for the construction of 59,000 public houses by 2030 and funding for more housing, including public-private partnerships on vacant state-owned properties.

On 17 June, the prime minister acknowledged in parliament that the previous target of building 26,000 public houses by 2026 had been “challenging to achieve”, but chose to remain “confident and optimistic”.

“I think we still can stimulate construction in the public sector,” said Montenegro, pointing out that “the implementation rate is now increasing”.

“We have an implementation rate of 27% for these 26,000 homes and, according to the information the municipalities provided to us at the end of June, 13,429 homes will be ready under this programme,” he said.

The prime minister also considered that it was necessary to overcome “administrative and bureaucratic obstacles” that delayed the construction of new homes.

VQ/ADB // ADB.

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