Ng, S T and Hon, W C W (2011) Concerns of the society on new mega infrastructure and construction projects in Hong Kong. In: Egbu, C and Lou, E C W (eds.) Proceedings of 27th Annual ARCOM Conference, 5-7 September 2011, Bristol, UK.
Abstract
As a country's economy prospers, the government would invest considerably in infrastructure and construction facilities to sustain its economic growth and enhance the quality of life of citizens. While these social facilities would no doubt benefit the society by and large, they could damage the environment and affect the residents in the area during the construction and operation stages. The construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has resulted in an unexpected resonance in Hong Kong a place which is very used to mega infrastructure and construction developments. Those opposing to the scheme were not confined to the affected groups but they also included the professionals and the young generation. The concerns of the society appear to be more unpredictable than before. Should the government fail to identify and address the predominant concerns of the society before a social facility is proposed, the chance of project failure would increase and subsequently the mistrust between the government and the society would intensify. The aim of this paper is, therefore, to unveil the concerns of the society on new public infrastructure and construction (PIC) facilities. The paper begins by examining the major categories of social concerns as found in the literature. Those concerns which are relevant to today's society are identified through a series of interviews. The paper is finally concluded by some pragmatic recommendations for improvement in the current public engagement mechanism. The paper should help policy makers to attain the best socio-economic benefits when planning for new mega PIC projects in future.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | infrastructure and construction projects; public engagement; social concerns; socio-economic benefits |
| Index terms: | socio-economic benefit, construction project, economic growth, construction development, interview, Hong Kong, project failure, society, public infrastructure, quality of life, public engagement |
| Subjects: | production management, Geography, economic development, public and environmental health, communities and social development, infrastructure and transport systems, financial analysis, data collection methods, project completion, participation process |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Sustainability, Cost Management, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here