Hong Kong\u2019s position as an increasingly integrated component in the GBA is opening up new and varied opportunities for the SAR\u2019s construction sector. This is in turn creating long-term demand for skilled workers in Hong Kong\u2019s construction sector.\u00a0Though China faces pressing economic challenges and the country\u2019s real estate market industry experienced bouts of turbulence over 2021, which saw China\u2019s second-biggest developer Evergrande default on debt repayments, the PRC\u2019s construction sector is being buoyed by the country\u2019s growth powerhouse: the Guangdong\u2013Hong Kong\u2013Macau\u00a0Greater Bay Area (GBA).<\/p>\n
Outlined in 2017, the GBA is composed of Hong Kong and Macau as well as nine cities in mainland China\u2014Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhongshan and Zhuhai. As a whole, the area covers 56,000 square kilometres, boasts a population of over 86 million, and generated a GDP of US$1.6 trillion in 2020. The GBA\u2019s GDP is\u00a0forecast<\/a>\u00a0to hit US$4.6 trillion in the next eight years.<\/p>\n Each part of the area has a role to fulfil, technology and innovation in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, and trade and finance in Hong Kong, for instance. The GBA, a key pillar of the country\u2019s economic strategy, is vitally important to China\u2019s development.<\/p>\n The aim is to build the GBA into a highly integrated bay area to rival the likes of San Francisco, Tokyo and New York. These ambitious and achievable plans, as detailed in the\u00a0Outline Development Plan<\/a>\u00a0for the Greater Bay Area in February 2019, bode well for Hong Kong\u2019s construction sector, as well as architectural and engineering industries. And with Guangdong\u2019s Communist Party leader recently urging the GBA\u2019s components to step up the pace of development, 2022 is set to be a year of rapid progress.<\/p>\n The related infrastructure that\u2019s already been built includes the\u00a0Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge<\/a>\u00a0and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, which opened in 2019. Stretching 55km across the Pearl River Delta, the bridge-tunnel system is the world\u2019s longest sea-crossing. And much more infrastructure is planned as authorities drive forward plans to more closely integrate the GBA\u2019s members. For instance, the 24km-long\u00a0Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge<\/a>, which will connect Shenzhen and Zhongshan, is scheduled for completion in 2024. Other large-scale projects include shopping malls, apartment complexes, hotels and offices.<\/p>\n Integration of the construction sectors across the GBA is creating synergies and making it easier for people to work across the GBA\u2019s boundaries. For example, in 2020, 24 Macanese and five Hong Kong businesses\u00a0obtained registration certificates<\/a>\u00a0to provide construction services in the area, as did 87 Macanese and 38 Hong Kong construction professionals.<\/p>\n Last year, Hong Kong\u2019s government brought in measures to enable qualified Hong Kong-based professionals in the architecture, engineering, surveying and landscape architecture fields to directly provide services in the GBA after registering in the Mainland. This further opened up a huge array of opportunities for construction professionals in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n Hong Kong\u2019s construction sector stands to benefit as more collaborative projects are undertaken in the GBA, especially with regard to high-end services like building information modelling, reclamation, high-density design, project management, and engineering consulting.<\/p>\n Not only does Hong Kong\u2019s position in the GBA comprise a growth driver in the form of access to a rapidly increasing opportunity set, the SAR\u2019s own development plans are set to propel the further growth of Hong Kong\u2019s construction sector.<\/p>\n A Research and Markets\u00a0analysis<\/a>\u00a0published in May, 2022, forecast that Hong Kong\u2019s construction industry will grow 2.5% over the year boosted by the recovery of activity and major transport and housing projects. In February, 2022, Hong Kong\u2019s government announced a plan to support the construction sector\u00a0worker supply<\/a>\u00a0by some 27,000 skilled and semi-skilled employees over the next few years in anticipation of a building boom.<\/p>\nInfrastructure Bonanza<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Deeper Greater Bay Area integration is Set to Boost Hong Kong\u2019s C<\/strong>onstruction S<\/strong>ector<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Home-grown Initiatives<\/strong><\/h4>\n