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As the newly elected Chairman of the BD Division for Session 2023/2024, I am deeply honoured and proud to follow in the footsteps of Past Chairmen and Committee Members who have made significant contributions to the Division over the years. I would like to pay special tribute to Ir Anthony Y M Chiu, the Immediate Past Chairman, for his outstanding leadership during the last Session, particularly his efforts to help the Division recover from the impact of COVID-19 and resume its planned schedules and major activities.
As we move forward into the ‘new normal', the government has set various targets in the recent Policy Address for the development of the Northern Metropolis, the construction of Light Public Housing units, the redevelopment of public housing estates, and the participation of private developers in subsidised housing development. Achieving these targets will require the expertise and participation of many professional engineers, especially building engineers, who will need to take on fast-paced, challenging, and demanding projects. This highlights the important role that our professional engineers will play in meeting these development targets.
Also, dealing with an ageing city population will require building engineers and practitioners with the knowledge and skills to address specific problems relating to the elderly and creating a better living environment through innovation and advanced technologies.
As a Division consisting of a diverse group of professionals, including those with expertise in engineering design, construction, building management, and academia, we are committed to promoting the latest and most advanced building materials and technologies. We will continue to organise technical seminars and visits, which will enable us to stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the field and to share our knowledge and expertise with others. We hope to inspire innovation and creativity in the building industry and to contribute to the creation of a more sustainable built environment.
The BD Division will also foster interaction and fellowship between professionals and stakeholders across the industry. We will cherish collaborative opportunities with other divisions and institutional bodies to jointly organise high-value learned society activities.
I look forward to your continued support of the BD Division and active participation in the coming year.
After three years of the pandemic, the BD Division was finally able to organise an overseas delegation visit to Malaysia from 16 to 19 April 2023. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all involved parties including the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM), the University of Malaysia and the Arup office of Merdeka 118 for their warm reception.
On the second day, we visited the IEM and had a fruitful dialogue session. The IEM was highly interested in the background of our BD Division and how building discipline is formed with a diverse group of professionals, as Malaysia does not have a bachelor’s degree or professional stream for construction management.
Our affiliate member, Ir Philip Lai delivered an insightful talk on the governance of the Hong Kong building industry for the private sector.
The IEM representative also ran a seminar on the use of the Malaysian standard code of practice in the design of concrete structures and explained how they applied it.
A casual lunch with the Committee Members of the IEM was arranged after the dialogue session. All the exchange sessions were rewarding, and Committee Members of the BD Division and the IEM gained a deeper understanding of each other’s institutions, as well as the working environment and culture in Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Apart from the IEM visit, we also visited the University of Malaya, which is one of the top research-based universities in Malaysia. The senior lecturer introduced the University’s engineering programme and gave us a guided tour of the university laboratories to help us learn more about the Malaysian education system and their learning environment.
The whole trip was extremely rewarding and memorable. All participants were given a chance to exchange engineering knowledge with Malaysian academic and industry professionals, build up strong bonds, as well as enjoying a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the construction site of the second tallest building in the world, the Merdeka 118.