Civil Service Newsletter Issue 113

Explanation of WCAG 2.0 Level Double-A Conformance

“ Together We Build ” Joining hands to build a safer Hong Kong

Health Bureau

The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee Ka-chiu, attended Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2022 prize presentation ceremony at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 12 December 2022. Mr John Lee (front row, fifth left) was pictured with gold prize recipients of Excellence in Partnership Award for award-winning project, "Together We Build".

SINCE early 2020, the Government urgently needed to speed up the construction of quarantine facilities to accommodate close contacts of confirmed COVID -19 persons to help sever transmission chains in the community. With the coordination of the Health Bureau (formerly the Food and Health Bureau), more than 20 government bureaux and departments joined hands to plan, construct, utilise and manage the new quarantine facilities. More than 4,000 units were constructed in ten months, including the most well-known ones in Phase I to IV of Penny’s Bay, strengthening Hong Kong’s capability to prevent and fight against the epidemic.

Team mobilisation

As Hong Kong did not have the experience of building similar quarantine facilities before the epidemic, in the early stages of construction, the project team had to tackle various challenges in a very short period of time, including resource planning and funding, site selection, unit design as well as fire-safety and infection-control design. In addition to achieving high efficiency and ensuring construction of a sufficient number of facilities, the team also had to pay attention to facility design — ensuring they were user-friendly — to help address both the physical and mental health of those under quarantine.

Joint meetings with contractors and multiple government departments.

Rapid execution

With limited construction time, the team thought out of the box by incorporating new technologies in design, construction, installation and quality checking, including adopting Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) and Building Information Modelling (BIM), which allowed the design of the units to be confirmed at the early stage. Then, while the units were being fabricated in off-site factories, site levelling as well as installation of cabling, water supply and drainage networks were carried out in parallel on site. The site also leveraged real-time logistics and transportation monitoring; aerial cameras were also used to monitor the site progress.

Working with contractors throughout challenging times.

Interior setup of quarantine accommodation.

Together We Build

With the joint efforts of various bureaux/departments and application of new technology, the project delivered the first batch of quarantine facilities completed with MiC in Hong Kong. The government team received positive responses from multiple stakeholders in the construction industry and public utilities, all working together for the success of the quarantine facilities. The project laid a firm foundation for Hong Kong’s fight against the epidemic and also served as an important reference for anti-epidemic efforts.