Ronald James Blake, GBS,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, JP (, born 2 April 1934) is a civil engineer, and a former Secretary for Works in the government of colonial Hong Kong. He was appointed to the post of acting CEO of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) on 16 March 2006 to replace the outgoing Samuel Lai.

Early life

James Blake was born in the UK in 1934. He studied structural engineering part-time whilst working as a draftsman for an engineering firm after leaving school.

Career

While serving with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

in Her Majesty's Armed Forces he arrived in the Territory for the first time in 1958. He qualified as a Chartered Engineer two years later. He settled in Hong Kong in 1965 and worked in various private companies, participating in the construction of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel as well as the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...

amongst other projects. Prior to coming to the Territory, he had worked for Boulton and Paul in the UK. He had also worked for Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners in Hong Kong, before being appointed as Secretary for Works.

Secretary for Works

He was appointed Secretary for Works by the Hong Kong Government in 1991, a post he held until 1995. He later joined the KCRC as its Senior Director of capital projects.

Professional achievements

* Awarded gold medal by the Institute of Civil Engineers in 1997 * President of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers from 1991-1992 * Awarded the Gold Bauhinia Star, 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Ronald James 1934 births Living people British civil engineers Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Government officials of Hong Kong British emigrants to Hong Kong Officers of the Order of the British Empire Hong Kong civil engineers Royal Engineers officers Recipients of the Gold Bauhinia Star