The Housing Department (HD) has proudly received four awards in the category of Excellence in Team Collaboration of the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme 2022. The honour is a manifestation of our team spirit and our fulfilment of Department’s Core Values of Caring, Customer-focused, Creative and Committed. Attended by the Permanent Secretary of Housing, the award winning teams received the honour at the Award Presentation Ceremony.

Organised by the Civil Service Bureau, the Award Scheme aims to recognise the efforts of departments and teams which provide excellent service, to promote a customer-focused culture in the civil service, and to inspire departments and teams for continuous improvement in the delivery of public services. The award winning projects are briefly introduced below:

Gold Award – Conversion of Chun Yeung Estate into a Quarantine Centre and the Subsequent Reinstatement

At the initial stage of the outbreak of COVID-19, the Government requested using Chun Yeung Estate as a quarantine centre. The HD team managed to convert within 12 days the Estate into the first large quarantine centre in Hong Kong with the provision of appropriate quarantine facilities. The whole operation, from converting the Estate into a quarantine centre, to reinstating it for tenants’ occupancy, fully demonstrates our excellent team collaboration.

Bronze Award – Cash Allowance Trial Scheme

The Scheme aims to offer cash allowance to eligible General Applicant households not living in public housing, not receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and who have been waiting for public rental housing (PRH) for more than three years but not yet provided the first PRH. With the prompt action taken by the HD team in developing an innovative system, and its close collaboration with related government departments and banks; the processing time for applications were shortened. Difficulties on livelihood faced by grass-roots families were alleviated.

Merit Award – Conversion of 3 000 Public Housing Units into Community Isolation Facilities at Top Speed

Amid the fifth wave of COVID-19 epidemic, the HD mobilised all available resources to swiftly convert three newly completed blocks at Queens Hill Estate and Lai King Estate into Community Isolation Facilities (CIF) in around 10 days. The task involved the provision of over 3 000 well-equipped isolation units and accommodation of 15 000 ft2 for supporting services. The team worked closely with various government departments and contractors to put in place hundreds of thousands items, so as to serve the needs of CIF occupants.

Merit Award – “Zero Irrigation System” – Rainwater Harvesting for Eco-friendly Planting

The System has recently been widely adopted across HD’s public housing projects. It facilitates root absorption and irrigation of plants through collecting and storing rainwater in retention boxes beneath the planting area. Fresh water consumption is thus significantly reduced and pressure on the urban sewer system much relieved.