Chen Meibao: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will continue to promote the development of the low-altitude economy in various ways.

On February 12, the Secretary for Transport and Logistics of Hong Kong, Ms. Stevie Chen, responded to questions raised by Legislative Councilor Jeremy Tam during a Legislative Council meeting. She mentioned that the Chief Executive announced in the "Policy Address 2024" the government's direction to promote the development of the low-altitude economy. This includes setting specific application sites to promote pilot projects. The government will focus on top-level layout, starting from the overall infrastructure planning level, and leveraging Hong Kong's unique advantages in "One Country, Two Systems", connectivity with the outside world, and talent pool to utilize Hong Kong's strengths in the low-altitude economy field, contributing to the development of the country's new productive forces. The government will continue to promote the development of Hong Kong's low-altitude economy from various aspects, by implementing regulatory sandbox pilot projects, enhancing cross-border cooperation, and improving infrastructure and technological support to establish an innovative, efficient, and safe low-altitude economic ecosystem in Hong Kong. Specific responses are as follows: (1) The first batch of regulatory sandbox pilot projects began accepting applications in November last year and closed at the end of last year. The Working Group on the Development of Low-Altitude Economy is reviewing a total of 72 project proposals submitted by applicants, with results expected to be announced in the first quarter of this year, followed by the commencement of project work. Depending on the progress of the first batch of pilot projects, details of the second batch of regulatory sandbox pilot project applications will be announced at a later date. At the same time, the government is reviewing the existing civil aviation ordinances and regulatory systems with the goal of submitting the first phase of legislative proposals to the Legislative Council in the second quarter of this year. This will expand the regulatory scope of the existing "Small Unmanned Aircraft Order" (Chapter 448G) to cover unmanned aircraft weighing between 25 and 150 kilograms. Plans are also in place to include provisions in the "Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995" (Chapter 448C) to empower the Director-General of Civil Aviation to permit manned advanced air mobility systems (AAM) to conduct test flights under certain conditions, subject to aviation safety requirements. It is hoped that these amendments will accelerate the progress of future regulatory sandbox pilot projects, especially in response to market demands and suggestions previously put forward by industry players and legislators for testing in high-load and manned projects. In the long run, efforts are underway to explore new dedicated legislation for various AAM with a weight exceeding 150 kilograms. These legislative amendments will not only align with the future development of technology and applications but also lay the foundation for future manned low-altitude flight activities, allowing Hong Kong to make significant contributions in the regulation and certification of the low-altitude economy. (2) In addition to promoting local applications, the government is actively exploring the feasibility of cross-border transportation of goods and passengers. Cross-border helicopter services can improve the convenience and efficiency of travel between different cities in the Greater Bay Area, promote further economic integration between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area, and leverage Hong Kong's unique advantage as a connectivity hub. The government is actively coordinating with relevant Mainland authorities to discuss the construction of cross-border low-altitude routes, immigration and customs arrangements, and infrastructure support. In November last year, led by the Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, representatives from the Transport and Logistics Bureau, Security Bureau, Civil Aviation Department, Immigration Department, and Hong Kong Customs visited Shenzhen to exchange views with relevant authorities on cross-border flight activities, establish a lead unit responsible, and agree to continue communication on the development of the low-altitude economy. In the future, the Working Group will continue to contact relevant authorities, hoping to facilitate cooperation as soon as possible to create favorable conditions for the construction of low-altitude Global Top E-Commerce roads in the Greater Bay Area. (3) To ensure the success of the low-altitude economy, infrastructure is essential. Currently, multiple government departments are applying drones and artificial intelligence technology in various scenarios to enhance services. These departments also utilize data from spatial data sharing platforms and open data platforms (such as maps, aerial photographs, three-dimensional spatial data, traffic data, and weather data) to facilitate innovative applications of drones and open sharing of urban data. In addition, the Digital Policy Office has launched multiple central platform services to further support policy bureaus and departments in utilizing digital technology to optimize public services and urban management. With the rapid advancement of technology, the government will consider the needs of different departments for administrative innovation and urban management, as well as reference domestic and international experiences to build a low-altitude intelligent network and explore various digital solutions that promote data interoperability, sharing, and analysis applications. Among the regulatory sandbox pilot project applications received include projects related to urban management applications, incorporating technologies such as artificial intelligence analysis, automatic identification systems, algorithms, and high-precision positioning. The first batch of regulatory sandbox pilot projects will be actively promoted, with the aim of advancing the local technology industry towards specialization and standardization, ensuring the stability and long-term success of the low-altitude economy, and positioning Hong Kong as an incubation base for the low-altitude economy innovation. Furthermore, the government is conducting technical research on low-altitude infrastructure, including the feasibility of low-altitude surveillance and management systems, low-altitude data sharing, and the application of geographic information systems and three-dimensional geographic spatial data. In this regard, under the leadership of the Working Group, efforts will continue to actively promote these initiatives.