With local construction in the doldrums, new markets offer hope
THE REVIVAL OF the property sector, seen in sharp rent increases and the declarations of government support for the construction industry, has generated many headlines recently.
But the market upturn has yet to result in a noticeable increase in building activity in Hong Kong. This is perhaps not surprising, since new on-site work typically lags behind other developments in the property sector by 18 months to two years.
'In fact, for new construction the downturn is continuing, despite the government's intention to devote more resources to reviving the sector,' said Conrad Wong, president of the Hong Kong Construction Association, a trade group with more than 300 member companies and an 80-year history.
The Construction Industry and Training Authority registered only $40 billion in contracts exceeding $1 million last year compared with $120 billion in 2000. The value of contracts in the first six months of this year showed a further drop.
Nevertheless, construction firms are starting to hire again, largely on the strength of overseas business, notably in Macau and the mainland.
'However, these new markets are not enough to completely compensate for the weakness of the sector in Hong Kong,' Mr Wong said.
China State Construction is more optimistic.
'We are looking for construction professionals such as architects, structural engineers and engineers who specialise in building services and planning,' said C.N. Yip, executive director and senior vice-president of China State Construction (Hong Kong), the city's largest contractor.
'We need people to support operations in Hong Kong and Macau and, to a lesser extent, in the mainland, since construction projects there have already attracted a number of Hong Kong professionals.'
Weymond Lam, general manager of the human resources department of China Overseas Holdings, said: 'There is a need not only for engineers and surveyors in Macau but for construction workers as well.'
It is often more difficult to recruit planning engineers than project engineers since Hong Kong professionals going into the field tend to favour the latter discipline. The result is that many planning engineers have to be drafted in from overseas.
While Mr Wong agreed that the commercial sector had become more active, he also noted that the industry was changing, with China Overseas seeing growing demand in the residential sector.