The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is an agency 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, refers to the executive authorities of Hong Kong SAR. It was formed on 1 July 1997 in accordance with the Sino-Br ...

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. The position was created in 2007 to replace portions of the previous portfolios ...

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 Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

; the Planning, Environment and Lands Bureau was renamed Planning and Lands Bureau. When the

Principal Officials Accountability System Principal Officials Accountability System, commonly referred to as the Ministerial system (), sometimes the Accountability System, was introduced in Hong Kong by chief executive Tung Chee Hwa in July 2002. It is a system whereby all principal ...

went into effect on 1 July 2002, the

Housing Bureau Housing Bureau (HB) is one of the fifteen policy bureaux for 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 H ...

and Planning and Lands Bureau were combined into the

Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau The Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau () is a former policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which was responsible for urban planning policy, public housing and the management and selling of public lands. It was headed by the Secretary for H ...

. 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 *Public works *Waste management The bureau ...

, and heritage conservation from

Home Affairs Bureau The Home and Youth Affairs Bureau () is one of the policy bureaux of the Hong Kong Government. One of the important roles of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau is to enhance liaison and communication with all sectors of the community inclu ...

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 Survey and Mapping Off ...

* Lands Registry *

Planning Department Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

Architectural Services Department The Architectural Services Department is a department of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for the design and construction of many public facilities throughout the territory. It is subordinate to the Works Branch of the Development Bu ...

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

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 escalat ...

Water Supplies Department The Water Supplies Department (WSD; ) is the department under Development Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong of the People's Republic of China providing a reliable and adequate supply of wholesome potable water and sea water to customers i ...

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 harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

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 ...

Kowloon Bay Kowloon Bay is a body of water within Victoria Harbour and an area 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 Victoria Harbour, between ...

and former

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was the 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 Ka ...

, 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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. 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 ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

2007 establishments in Hong Kong