CIMC Group Constructs Nearly 3,600 Transitional Houses in Hong Kong, Expected to Benefit Over 10,000 Families

SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On 10^th August, CIMC Modular Building Systems Holding Co., Limited ("CIMC-MBS"), a subsidiary of CIMC Building Technology Co., Ltd. Under CIMC Group, held a module lifting ceremony at the transitional housing project site in Lok Wo Sha Lane, Ma On Shan, Hong Kong.

This is the sixth transitional housing project constructed by CIMC-MBS for Hong Kong. To date, the company has cumulatively constructed nearly 3,600 units of transitional housing in Hong Kong over the past two years, expected to benefit over 10,000 households.

In Shenzhen-style Speed, Nearly 3,600 Transitional Houses Built in Hong Kong within Two Years

The one in Lok Wo Sha Lane, Ma On Shan is the first transitional housing project in Sha Tin District, Hong Kong, funded and supported by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. The project consists of four-story buildings, totaling 436 units of transitional housing. The project's design and planning prioritize on environmental protection and meeting the living needs of grassroots families, with features such as open kitchens, separate bathrooms, and dining areas.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, providing transitional housing for approximately 1,200 Hong Kong residents who have long been on the waiting list for public housing or living in disadvantaged environments.

During the construction period in December 2022, when China was fully withdrawing domestic epidemic prevention and control measures, the project faced various challenges such as a shortage of market renovation materials, scattered construction teams, and tight production scheduling. To actively address these, various departments of CIMC-MBS collaborated. The manufacturing workshop and project site were constructed simultaneously, and the machinery operated efficiently day and night, ensuring a seamlessly process and timely project delivery. Additionally, CIMC-MBS provided modular transportation services for both road and offshore, undertaking on-site module lifting, roof installation, and on-site decoration, thus providing end-to-end services to clients.

The Lok Wo Sha Lane Project is another transitional housing project by CIMC-MBS for Hong Kong, following previous projects such as those at United Court, Yecheng Street, Tsing Lung Tau, and Muk On Street.

In just two years, CIMC-MBS has constructed six transitional housing projects in Hong Kong, with a total construction area exceeding 70,000 square meters. The projects involved over 4,000 modules and nearly 3,600 units of transitional housing, expected to benefit over 10,000 households and more than 15,000 grassroots citizens, providing them with comfortable residences.

CIMC's Solution Helps Alleviate Hong Kong's Housing Problem

Housing is one of the most pressing issues in Hong Kong society. Currently, addressing the housing shortage is an important policy goal of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

In the Chief Executive's Policy Address for 2022, Chief Executive John Lee proposed comprehensive measures to expedite, streamline, and increase housing supply in Hong Kong. To address the inadequate living conditions, such as subdivided units, the government aims to significantly increase housing supply by introducing new "basic public housing" using government and private land without immediate development plans. These new units will be rapidly constructed using standardized designs and prefabricated assembly techniques. Approximately 30,000 units will be built within five years, increasing the public housing supply by about 25%. Furthermore, combining basic public housing with traditional public housing, is expected to increase the total public housing production in the next five years by about 50% compared to the previous five-year period.

CIMC Modular Building Systems integrates structural, mechanical & electrical, decoration, and intelligent systems into a permanent building system. Over 90% of building modules can be prefabricated and decorated on factory assembly lines. Upon transportation to the project site via land and sea, they can be quickly lifted and assembled, allowing for immediate occupancy.

As the world's leading and most integrated prefabricated building, it can give full play to the advantages of intelligent construction, scale and standardized construction of building industrialization, and has outstanding performance in schedule management, quality control and safe construction.

The construction of the modular building system is not affected by the weather, and it is also ideal in terms of schedule management, quality control and safe construction. Compared with the traditional construction method, it can save more than 50% of the construction period, which can effectively help the rapid construction of public housing in various places and effectively relieve the housing pressure. It's believed that modular buildings can bring sustainable value.

In addition, due to the mobility of its system, it can meet the government's flexible planning of land use. Modules can be recycled, repurposed or relocated to continue use. This not only improves the recycling rate of buildings, but also saves cost for customers which is an important innovative practice of "carbon peak, carbon neutral" in the construction field.

As the world's leading service provider and manufacturer of modular building technology, CIMC MBS has fully mastered the module design, module manufacturing process, logistics transportation and installation, LCL and node processing, and whole process management of steel structure and concrete structure modular buildings.

Over the years, with the business philosophy of "Global Operation, Local Wisdom" and industry-leading core patented technologies, CIMC-MBS has provided high-quality steel structural integrated modular building solutions for various sectors, including hotels, apartments, schools, healthcare facilities, public housing, commercial offices, data centers, and cultural tourism.

In 2022, the United Court transitional housing project, constructed by CIMC-MBS, became the first operational transitional housing project in Hong Kong. It completed the construction of 2,076 building modules in just 96 days, remarkably 30 days ahead of schedule. In a little over three months, approximately 1,800 housing units were built. The project also incorporating facilities that prioritized residents' living experience, such as a comprehensive service building, convenience stores, shared kitchens, outdoor children's playgrounds, and community gardens to meet the daily needs of residents, promote interaction, and facilitate physical activities.

Since its completion, the project has served as a benchmark for showcasing Hong Kong's innovative construction methods to relevant government departments and industry experts.

Recently, Winnie Ho Wing-yin, the Secretary for Housing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, expressed the government's commitment to accelerating public housing construction. By combining the efforts of "basic public housing" and traditional public rental housing, the government aims to reduce the waiting time for public housing from around six years to four and a half years within four years.

Data shows that as of April 25, 2023, a total of 7,020 transitional housing units have been put into use in Hong Kong, with 14,068 units funded. It is projected that by the end of 2024, over 21,000 transitional housing units will be available for occupancy citywide.

The person-in-charge from CIMC-MBS stated that the company will leverage the strong global resource integration and industrial operation capabilities of CIMC Group, capitalize the leading advantages in the modular integrated building industry, continue to innovate and make breakthroughs and contribute the "CIMC's solution" in order to support governments in solving the housing problems of people's livelihood, accelerate the pace of public housing construction, shorten the waiting time, and construct a better living space for the residents. 

SOURCE CIMC