4 September, 2006

The Honourable Donald Tsang, GBM
Chief Executive
Chief Executive’s Office
Government House
Hong Kong

Government expenditure on works projects

 I have brought up the captioned subject with you at two of our recent meetings including the one focused on your forthcoming Policy Address.

According to the information furnished recently by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury at my request made to the Financial Secretary, the government’s total expenditure on the Capital Works Programme for the 2005-06 financial year was only $26.5 billion, a significant shortfall of 15.6% compared to that of the preceding year.

In the Policy Addresses 2003, 2004, 2005, the Budgets of 2003-4, 2004-5, 2005-06 and 2006-07, the government has reiterated its commitment in earmarking $29 billion a year on average for infrastructure projects and create more construction employment opportunities. But the above-mentioned shortfall in capital expenditure with its adverse consequences has evidently reflected in the current sad state of the construction sector. Its unemployment rate has been persistently stayed at a relatively high level of over 11%, more than twice the general unemployment rate of the whole of Hong Kong.

I would therefore very much like to seek your enlightenment on what the government is considering in its policies and strategies to deal with this highly critical state of affairs.

Ir Dr the Hon Raymond Ho Chung-tai