Recently, the Hong Kong light public housing project at Cheung On Street, Chai Wan, has officially commenced occupancy, marking a new phase in which this livelihood project moves from construction to benefiting the public. Upon completion, the project will provide 1,720 independent residential units, further offering more suitable and stable housing options for citizens with urgent housing needs, and contributing positively to the continued increase of short-term public housing supply in Hong Kong as well as the improvement of living conditions for grassroots families.

Ho Wing-hon, Secretary for Housing in Hong Kong, recently posted on Facebook that the Chai Wan Cheung On Street project, as the only simplified public housing project on Hong Kong Island, has officially commenced occupancy, providing over 1,700 units for eligible citizens to apply for, which is of significant importance in improving the living conditions of grassroots families.

Ho Wing-hin mentioned that many residents had already gone through procedures such as collecting their keys at the move-in site, and everyone is looking forward to their new lives. She also shared the experience of 'unboxing' a new unit with a family of four. This family previously lived in a subdivided flat of about 180 square feet in North Point, paying a monthly rent of HK$7,500, and had long faced issues such as cramped space and high rent burdens.

The Chai Wan Chang'an Street project consists of two high-rise residential buildings, with 22 and 23 floors respectively. A total of 2,298 residential modules and 22 functional modules were used for assembly, with each unit ranging from approximately 14 to 32 square metres. Monthly rent ranges from about 1,340 to 3,020 yuan, catering to the housing needs of different families. The elderly member of one family stated that this is the first time they have lived in such a good place and believes that the light public housing measures have indeed helped many grassroots citizens improve their living conditions, while also providing better growth space for their children.

For many families who have lived long-term in inadequate housing, the provision of light public housing brings not just a change in living space, but also signifies the reconstruction of life order, family planning, and confidence in future development.

During the implementation of the Chai Wan Chang'an Street project, AluHouse fully leveraged the advantages of industrialised construction to promote the efficient application of MiC technology in high-rise residential buildings. A large number of components and spatial units were prefabricated in the factory, with the structure, decoration, aluminium windows, and Mimep processes moved forward to the manufacturing end. They were then transported to the site via combined sea and land logistics for hoisting and assembly, significantly reducing traditional on-site construction procedures and enhancing construction efficiency and the controllability of project quality.

From the commencement of factory production to formal occupancy, the Chai Wan Chang'an Street project took approximately one year in total, reducing the construction period by about 40%-50% compared with traditional buildings of the same scale. During peak production, the AluHouse intelligent manufacturing base achieved nearly 80 module packagings and shipments in a single day. Correspondingly, during the on-site installation phase, the project set a record by successfully hoisting nearly 60 modules in a single day at peak periods. 

More importantly, AluHouse has established a full lifecycle blockchain quality traceability system: from a raw material to a complete MiC module, every component and process is assigned a unique digital identity, and the quality inspection data of 90 key nodes is uploaded to the cloud in real time, achieving transparent and precise quality control from the source to the end product.

The Chai Wan Cheung On Street project, one of the four sites of the SS N520 light public housing project, is a prime example of how the Greater Bay Area collaboration empowers Hong Kong's livelihood projects. Facing the construction demand for 2,320 MiC modules in a short period, the CSCEC Green Technology-AluHouse joint venture fully leveraged the synergy of 1+1>2. Relying on the mature industrial system of the Greater Bay Area, the joint venture quickly integrated upstream and downstream resources such as aluminium profiles, steel, prefabricated decoration, moulds, and aluminium windows, enabling large-scale, standardised centralised procurement and production of MiC modules. This not only reduced costs but, more importantly, created an efficient loop of 'Hong Kong design standards - smart manufacturing in the Bay Area - specialised logistics - on-site installation in Hong Kong', ensuring that high-quality modules are continuously supplied to the construction site within the tight schedule.

Furthermore, the consortium actively promotes "new quality productivity," achieving breakthroughs in the building industrialisation sector through four improvements: accelerating speed with intelligent manufacturing, increasing output with standardised production, enhancing quality with meticulous management, and improving efficiency with digital collaboration. This innovative model can effectively advance the construction cycle of public housing and, by adopting an industrialised production approach, ensure building quality, allowing more citizens in Hong Kong to realise their dream of stable housing at an earlier date.   

The successful launch and occupancy of the Wan Chang'an Street project marks an important milestone in the progress of the SS N520 light public housing project and is a concrete manifestation of the phased achievements in Hong Kong's light public housing construction. The project promotes the rapid formation and utilisation of a large number of residential units through industrialised, standardised, and digitalised methods, demonstrating the significant effectiveness of new construction technologies in addressing practical housing issues.

As an important participant in the project, AluHouse has actively contributed to Hong Kong's livelihood projects, demonstrating strong integration, manufacturing, and coordination capabilities during project execution. In the future, as sites like Qingfa Street in Tuen Mun, Xinbao Road in Tuen Mun, and Hengguang Street in Ma On Shan are gradually completed, the overall impact of the SS N520 project will become more apparent. AluHouse will continue to leverage its technical and industrial advantages in modular construction, actively taking part in more high-quality livelihood projects, contributing to the continuous increase of public housing supply in Hong Kong and improving residents' living environments.