CityU co-organises UNECE International PPP forum

The UNECE International PPP Forum, themed "Implementing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through effective, people-first Public-Private Partnerships", was held on 9th-11th May, and co-organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the College of Business, City University of Hong Kong. The three-day forum included discussions on how to promote international PPP standards, exchange PPP experiences, and showcase projects, in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.  It also featured a special high level debate entitled “How can the international community support China to operationalise its OBOR initiative and develop best practice on People-First PPPs?”.

In her inaugural remarks, Ms Yvonne Choi, Commissioner for Belt and Road of the HKSAR Government, said that infrastructure development was a vital first step in achieving the goals under the Belt and Road initiative.

“Infrastructure development is capital intensive, and usually the investment level falls short of requirement. The gap cannot be filled by public money alone, and this is where the PPP model comes in."  

Choi concluded that PPP can bring together the public and private sectors, and form contractual relationship in providing good public services in long term.

Officiating the opening ceremony included Dr Tianyi Wang, Co-Director of the Centre for PPP, Tsinghua University; Prof Lu Li, Director of Education, Science and Technology Department, Liaison Office, Central People's Government in HKSAR; Ms Yvonne Choi, Commissioner for Belt and Road, HKSAR Government; Mr Herman Hu, Chairman of CityU Council; Mr Geoffrey Hamilton, Officer in Charge, Economic Cooperation and Trade Division, UNECE, Dr Tieniu Tan, Deputy Director of Liaison Office, Central People’s Government in HKSAR; Prof Way Kuo, President of CityU, Ms Annie Wu, Standing Committee Member, the National Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Lifetime Honorary Board Member, World Trade Centers Association, Prof Alex Jen, Provost of CityU, and Ms Sharanjit Leyl, Producer and Presenter, BBC World News.

Apart from the keynote speeches and plenary discussions by experts from international organisations, corporations and academic institutions, the forum also brought in a visit to MTR Hong Kong, which has been awarded a number of railway-related PPP projects, in understanding the operation and business model of successful local and international PPP projects.

The UNECE International PPP Forum is put available online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y6KOnP59os