Hong Kong Housing Authority lauded with two honours at GovMedia Conference & Awards 2025

The HKHA was awarded the Hong Kong Public-Private Partnership of the Year - Housing and Hong Kong Public Sector Initiative of the Year - Youth accolade.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) have been recognised on the global stage, securing the esteemed GovMedia Conference & Awards 2025.  The award celebrates the HKHA ‘s groundbreaking application of robotics technology to enhance the efficiency, safety, and quality of public housing, as well as its efforts in supporting young people in pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams.

Public-private partnership – Robotic application in Hong Kong’s public housing

Amidst significant demand for public housing construction along with an ageing workforce with declining productivity, the HKHA has pioneered the use of robots to address labour-intensive and repetitive tasks, with the introduction of new technical requirements in building tenders back in 2020 to incentivise building contractors to adopt robot applications in construction.

The HKHA has adopted a public-private partnerships approach to promote the use of construction robots. The HKHA had proactively identified and validated construction robots through “pioneer and pilot” approach by leveraging diverse application scenarios of HKHA’s public housing projects as a platform for robot companies to improve robot efficiency. A strategic partnership with the Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also forged in 2023 to leverage their resources to develop tailor-made solutions for the HKHA. Through these partnerships, more than 10 different types of robots have been applied in over 20 HKHA projects. The tasks that can be undertaken by the construction robots include external wall painting, internal wall and ceiling painting works on domestic floors with integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) with Artificial Intelligence technology.  This integration enhances productivity, improves works quality, and increases safety.

Internal Wall Spray Painting Robot at Hong Kong’s Public Housing Site

As Hong Kong’s public housing units are relatively small, the HKHA have collaborated with robot suppliers across various projects to optimise the overall size and wheelbase of indoor painting robots to improve mobility.  The HKHA also conducted detailed analysis to refine the paint load capacity of the external wall robot.

Furthermore, HKHA has identified and introduced a multifunctional indoor construction robot that is capable of performing skim coating, sanding, and painting tasks. HKHA worked to modify the component switching method to accelerate construction workflows. “These robots are equipped with AI vision technology, allowing them to map their surroundings to ensure high quality work and operational efficiency,” HKHA said.

“Since its introduction, this robot has been introduced and adopted in Singapore’s HDB sites and other overseas markets, demonstrating its replicability internationally,” HKHA further added.  This highlights HKHA’s validation platform not only facilitates the practical application of innovative technologies but also serves as a connector for robot companies to expand globally. 

Separately, the HKHA recently collaborated with a contractor to deploy a team of construction robots for skim coating, sanding, and internal wall painting tasks. Through close collaboration with HKHA, the contractor enhanced robot accessibility between working floors and utilised AI-powered technology to address challenges presented by the site environment. Data collected indicated that the productivity for the painting work tasks by a robot is double that of a skilled worker. For a typical domestic block with 24 units per floor that typically require eight skilled workers could be completed by a team of construction robots with just two operators, showcasing the synergistic benefit of robot team operations.

“In light of the need for qualified on-site painting works, construction robots have also  been introduced for off-site painting works for precast concrete components at the precast factory.  Our validation efforts were further highlighted at the Construction Robots for Housing – RoboPaint Master Competition x Arena of Construction Robots held in May 2025, which demonstrated the technical capabilities and performance of construction robots,” HKHA added.   Drawing on accumulated experience, HKHA will also establish clear technical specifications and implementation standards to provide operational benchmarks for over 30 robot-assisted construction projects planned over the next three years, steering the industry towards a new model of “human-robot collaboration” in construction.

“Construction Robots for Housing – RoboPaint Master Competition x Arena of Construction Robots” event held in May 2025

In addition to construction, robotic applications are also being utilised in property management. This approach aims to reduce reliance on labour for physically demanding and repetitive tasks, such as cleaning and security, whilst enhancing the service quality in anticipation of growth in public rental estates over the coming years.

“In essence, this public-private partnership strategy exemplifies our commitment to drive excellence, innovation, and sustainability, bringing revolutionary changes to reshape the construction sector,” stated the HKHA. “By eliminating the ‘3Ds’ (Dirty, Dangerous, and Dull) associated with construction work, the HKHA seeks to attract a new generation of talented individuals.”

The HKHA will continue to serve as “super-connector” and “super-value-adder” not only linking the construction industry with robot companies, but also enhancing their businesses through close collaboration. This includes establishing industry benchmarks, promoting successful pilot projects, and integrating resources to transform the industry improving productivity, work quality and safety of public housing developments.

This earned HKHA the Hong Kong Public-Private Partnership of the Year - Housing accolade.

‘Well Being · Start-Up’ Programme

Meanwhile, HKHA was hailed with the Hong Kong Public Sector Initiative of the Year - Youth accolade at the GovMedia Conference & Awards 2025, in recognition of its “Well Being · Start-Up” Programme, which helps young people in fulfilling their entrepreneurial dreams.

The programme, launched in July 2024, served as a development opportunity for Hong Kong individuals aged 35 and below, offering retail spaces in HKHA shopping centres and allowing participants to trial their business ideas rent-free for a period of seven months.

“Alongside support with basic renovations and marketing, the programme empowers budding young entrepreneurs to thrive. If participants make a profit, the HA will just take 20% of their net profits to fund this innovative programme’s continued development,” HKHA stated.

About ten shops in seven HKHA shopping centres located in various districts, including Kowloon and the New Territories, have been selected for the programme. Young entrepreneurs were also provided mentoring by aspiring business leaders as they embarked on their startup journeys.

The Secretary for Housing and Chairman of the HKHA, the then Permanent Secretary for Housing and Director of Housing, the Chairman of HKHA’s Commercial Properties Committee, mentors and all successful applicants at the “Start-Up KEY Day” event

“The HKHA hopes to leverage the vitality and innovative ideas of young people to enrich community shopping experiences by providing a more diverse choice of products and shopping experiences for the community and bringing foot traffic to shopping centres through the programme and achieve mutual benefits for both residents and commercial tenants, which creates a win-win for all stakeholders,” HKHA added.

By eliminating financial barriers, HKHA empowered young entrepreneurs to focus on developing their business skill sets and ideas without the stress of rental costs. Notably, the “Well Being · Start-Up” Programme received positive feedback. It was even mentioned during the Chief Executive's 2024 Policy Address, inspiring landlords in the commercial sector to open their doors to budding entrepreneurs.

Roundtable sharing session with the Secretary for Housing, as well as representatives from the commercial, public organisations and community groups in order to encourage participations from the private sector.

The programme has now progressed into its second phase and has garnered support from 15 organisations, with some more organisations and landlords still under consideration. This demonstrates the synergy of public-private partnership in paving the way for a vibrant city with fresh ideas and diverse offerings.

The GovMedia Conference & Awards gives recognition to the trends and best practices that transform the public sector in the Asia Pacific region. The awards programme promotes excellence and provides a platform for exemplary government initiatives.

The GovMedia Awards is presented by Gov Media Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be recognised for your organisation's government projects and initiatives, please contact [email protected].