The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is a

policy bureau The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

of the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

responsible for urban planning and renewal, land administration, infrastructure development, building safety, landscape, greening & tree development, water supplies, flood prevention and heritage conservation. The Bureau is supervised by the

Secretary for Development The Secretary for Development of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for planning, land development and public works related development policy in Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and orga ...

History

The Development Bureau of Hong Kong was created on 1 July 2007 as part of a governmental reorganisation introduced under

Donald Tsang Sir Donald Tsang Yam-kuen (; born 7 October 1944) is a former Hong Kong civil servant who served as the second Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012. Tsang joined the colonial civil service as an Executive Officer in 1967, occupyi ...

. Responsibility for urban planning, environmental protection, and lands administration originally fell under the Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau when the Hong Kong SAR government was established in 1997. Beginning 1 January 2000, the responsibility for environmental protection was transferred to the Environment and Food Bureau; the Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau was renamed Planning and Lands Bureau. When the

Principal Officials Accountability System In Hong Kong, the Principal Officials Accountability System ( zh, t=主要官員問責制, labels=no) was introduced by inaugural chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal officials, including the Chie ...

went into effect on 1 July 2002, the

Housing Bureau Housing Bureau (HB) is a policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong. It is responsible for the housing portfolios. The agency was established on 1 July 2022. The current (since 1 July 2022) Secretary for Housing is Winnie Ho. This bureau wa ...

and Planning and Lands Bureau were combined into the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau. In 2007, the Development Bureau was established and took over the responsibility of planning and lands administration from the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau, public works from the

Environment, Transportation and Works Bureau The Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (ETWB) was formerly a policy bureau of the Hong Kong Government in existence from 2002 to 2007. It was responsible for: *Environmental protection *Transport in Hong Kong, Transport *Public works *Waste ...

, and

heritage conservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK) is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

from

Home Affairs Bureau The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau () is a policy bureau of the Hong Kong Government. The bureau has general responsibility over local administration, with a remit covering youth affairs, family planning, women's affairs, social development, f ...

. In July 2023, it was revealed that the Development Bureau was considering direct land grants, rather than open tenders, for the San Tin Technopole.

Structure

The Bureau comprises six divisions under two branches overseen by respective Permanent Secretaries:

Planning and Lands Branch

The Planning and Lands Branch oversees the urban planning and redevelopment in Hong Kong. Its responsibilities include ensuring a sufficient land supply and optimising land use, implementing urban renewal plans and maintaining a land administration system. The divisions under the Planning and Lands Branch are: *Lands Division *Planning Division *Urban Renewal and Buildings Division

Works Branch

The Works Branch of the Bureau focuses on the management and implementation of infrastructure, as well as heritage conservation and maintenance in Hong Kong. The divisions under the Works Branch are: *Heritage, Programme and Resource Division *Works Policies and Infrastructure Projects Divisions *Legal Advisory Division (Works) *Energizing Kowloon East Office (EKEO)

Subordinate agencies

The following public agencies are managed by the bureau: *

Buildings Department The Buildings Department (BD) is a department of the Hong Kong Government responsible for building codes, building safety, and inspection. It was founded in 1993 and is now subordinate to the Development Bureau The Development Bureau (DE ...

Lands Department The Lands Department is a government department under the Development Bureau responsible for all land matters in Hong Kong. Established in 1982, it comprises three functional offices: the Lands Administration Office The Lands Administration O ...

Lands Administration Office The Lands Administration Office (LAO) ( zh, 地政處) is a functional office under the Lands Department of the Hong Kong Government. The LAO comprises a headquarters section, a number of professional sections and 12 District Lands Offices (DLOs). ...

* Lands Registry *

Planning Department Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

* Architectural Services Department *

Civil Engineering and Development Department The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) is a department of the Government of Hong Kong, Hong Kong government that reports to the Development Bureau. Its major services include provision of land and infrastructure, port and ma ...

Drainage Services Department The Drainage Services Department (DSD) is a department of the Hong Kong Government responsible for drainage and sewerage. Since 2007 it has been subordinate to the Development Bureau. Responsibilities The department is responsible for stormw ...

Electrical and Mechanical Services Department The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD; ) is a Hong Kong government department responsible for inspection and enforcement of operation and safety of many electricity and gas installations; railways and trams; lifts and escala ...

Water Supplies Department The Water Supplies Department (WSD; ) is the department under the Development Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong of the People's Republic of China providing a Water supply and sanitation in Hong Kong, reliable and adequate supply of wholeso ...

Energising Kowloon East Office (EKEO)

The plans to redevelop Kowloon East, an industrial area that spans along the

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

between

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...

Kowloon Bay Kowloon Bay (Chinese: 九龍灣) is a bay within Victoria Harbour and a neighbourhood within Kowloon, Hong Kong. The bay is located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island. It is the eastern portion of Victor ...

and former

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was an international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply K ...

, was first announced in a policy address on 12 October 2011. The redevelopment plan would transform Kowloon East into a second central business district in addition to Central. In June 2012, the Development Bureau founded the Energising Kowloon East Office as an entity under the Works Branch to steer and oversee the development of this area.

References

External links

* {{Development Bureau (Hong Kong) Hong Kong government policy bureaux

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

2007 establishments in Hong Kong