At a prize presentation ceremony held on 17 March, the Housing Authority’s Upper Ngau Tau Kok (UNTK) Estate Redevelopment Project (Phases 2 & 3) scooped three awards for its outstanding performances.

The recently claimed honours include two Hong Kong Institute of Project Management (HKIPM) awards, one under the category of Construction/Engineering with project cost exceeding AUS$100M and the other under the category of Sustainable Projects. The UNTK project also won recognitions in the Asia Pacific Federation of Project Management (APFPM) Awards, receiving an award under the category of Construction/Engineering with project cost exceeding AUS$100M, while entering into the finalists under the category of Sustainable Projects.

Together with the above three awards, the UNTK redevelopment project has reaped so far a total of nine awards in different competitions. The other six awards are:-

Deputy Director of Housing (Development & Construction) Ada Fung was presented a Golden Helmet Award by the Lighthouse Club and the Construction Industry Council at the award presentation ceremony held on 9 March, in recognition of her significant contribution to promoting safety within the construction industry of Hong Kong.

At the award presentation ceremony, the Lighthouse Club commended Ms Fung’s commitment to supporting safety through various means and minimising injury among industry practitioners. In her sharing, Ms Fung highlighted the caring culture of the Housing Authority (HA), as well as its emphases on “safety first”, “safety being everybody’s business”, and “safety and quality going hand in hand” in all aspects of work.

Ms Fung elaborated that the HA’s professional staff are required to attend a four-day Safety Passport Training Course, and its contractors are always reminded to put safety first, while safety practices are to be adopted in all planning and design work. She cited the demolition of Lower Ngau Tau Kok Estate, in which the technology of Building Information Modelling was applied, as an example. The demolition project was smoothly completed and has achieved the “zero accident” target.

To uplift safety standards and nurture a safety culture, Ms Fung advocates "what gets measured gets done" based on a procurement cycle underpinned by PASS (Performance Assessment Scoring System) to plan, design and draw up contract specifications. She also drives research work, organisation of seminars, training and promotion activities, as well as issuing of publications to encourage sharing of safety practices and experience among practitioners and promulgate the HA’s "Safety DNA", in a bid to develop a safety culture together.

The Golden Helmet Award Committee assessed the candidates nominated by the industry based on their continuous contribution to promoting safety practices both within their corporations and in the construction industry.

As an active participant of the annual Hong Kong Flower Show, the Housing Authority (HA) has designed for this year's event a landscape of "Floral Tour" which won the Gold Award for Design Excellence (Landscape Display).

The landscape design is composed of various zones featuring distinctive floral species of five continents. Taking a stroll along the corridors of the garden, visitors will be embraced by seas of dazzling flowers and attracted by the landscape and water features in the courtyard. To facilitate visitors of all ages and physical abilities to enjoy the floral tour, the walkways within the whole landscape are wide enough for wheelchair users and paved with tactile paths for the visually-impaired. The whole design concept demonstrates the HA’s care-oriented efforts in providing a green and pleasant living environment for its public housing residents.

Organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Hong Kong Flower Show 2012 is open until 25 March between 9:00 am and 9:00 pm, at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Don't forget to take the HA's "Floral Tour" while you are there.