On 9 July, as the final MiC module on the Hengguang Street site in Ma'anshan was accurately positioned, the Hong Kong SS N520 light public  housing project reached a crucial concluding milestone, marking significant progress towards full completion of this socially significant livelihood project. On that day, Ho Wing-yin, Secretary for Housing of Hong Kong, along with government representatives and representatives from the various parties involved in the construction, arrived at the site to jointly witness the successful hoisting of the final MiC module of the light public housing project.

On site, Ho Wing-yin stated that today marks another important milestone in the construction of light public housing. With the successful installation of the final component, the assembly of all components for the new projects has been completed. She explained that the light public housing programme has completed the installation of a total of 33,780 components, providing approximately 29,400 units. Since the commencement of the first site in December 2023, all eight projects have now completed component installation. The works continue to progress, and more projects will be put into service gradually, bringing tangible housing improvements to more families in need.

As one of the suppliers of 'Modular Light Public Housing' assembly buildings, AluHouse has been deeply involved in the construction work of four sites: Cheung On Street in Chai Wan, Ching Fat Street in Tuen Mun, Yan Po Road in Tuen Mun, and Hang Kwong Street in Ma On Shan, covering nearly 16,000 components in total, which accounts for almost half of the overall 33,780 components, fully demonstrating its significant role in the project construction.

The "Light  Public Housing Project" is a new housing programme launched by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in 2022, aiming to construct 30,000 units of light public housing within five years. It prioritises improving the living conditions of those who have been waiting for public housing for over three years and is one of the current important livelihood projects in Hong Kong.

The SS N520 light public housing is jointly developed by China State Construction Engineering Corporation Green Technology and Liyoujia Consortium. The project covers four sites and ten high-rise buildings, with a total construction area of approximately 251,000 square metres. Once completed, it will provide nearly 13,000 residential units for grassroots citizens in urgent need of housing.

For families long trapped in cramped subdivided units with poor living conditions, a new home with an independent kitchen and bathroom, good lighting and ventilation, and complete facilities represents not just a change in space but a substantial improvement in quality of life. The successful installation of the last MiC module at the Hengguang Street site in Ma'anshan is a microcosm of the collective efforts of various sectors of Hong Kong society to promote adequate and suitable housing for all.

The SS N520 minimalist public housing project needs to advance construction simultaneously across four different regions in Hong Kong within less than two years, and nearly 16,000 MiC modules must be detailed and implemented across multiple stages, including design development, factory manufacturing, logistics, and on-site installation. The project is large in scale, organisationally complex, demanding in terms of compliance, and involves intricate collaboration interfaces, requiring highly coordinated management across the entire chain. 

Faced with such a high-intensity construction task, AluHouse fully adopts Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) technology. Unlike the traditional on-site casting method, MiC moves a large number of construction processes to the factory, and through standardized design, industrialised production, and assembly construction, significantly reduces on-site wet work and high-altitude operations, achieving the aim of "building houses like making cars".

During the project implementation process, leveraging the dual-plant interaction mechanism between the China State Construction Engineering Corporation Huizhou Intelligent Manufacturing Base and the AluHouse Zhaoqing Intelligent Production Base, dual-line mass production has been synchronised. The experience advantages in MiC module design refinement, manufacturing organisation, and assembly delivery have been fully utilised to transform the multiple processes traditionally carried out separately at construction sites into an orderly, controllable, and traceable production line within the factory. From large components such as kitchens, bathrooms, and door and window systems to small items like soap dishes, storage racks, and clothes racks, the vast majority of residential products are integrated and installed within the factory. Once the modules arrive on site, only lifting and water and electricity connections are required, enabling the rapid creation of usable spaces.

Leveraging this refined and systematic manufacturing capability, the project has effectively addressed common issues in traditional construction such as leakage, inadequate soundproofing, poor flatness, and odour transfer, resulting in simultaneous improvements in the durability, comfort, and reliability of the residences. For AluHouse, participating in the Light Public Housing project is not merely the fulfilment of a construction task, but also a response to the dual expectations of Hong Kong citizens for "fast and good" living through high-quality construction.

In the face of challenges such as simultaneous advancement across multiple plots and a large number of modules, digital collaboration has become a crucial guarantee for the smooth execution of projects. The AluHouse project team relies on a digital twin management platform, integrating BIM design, intelligent manufacturing, and smart logistics to achieve full-chain digital control from design refinement, production scheduling, and process management to quality tracking.

On the design side, joint ventures carry out multi-disciplinary collaboration through high-precision BIM models, combining AI intelligent design platforms to achieve automatic detailing, visualisation handover, and efficient drawing output, significantly improving overall design efficiency. On the manufacturing side, the AluHouse Zhaoqing production base continuously implements various automated and intelligent equipment, such as smart steel structure production lines using robotic collaborative welding and visual recognition correction technologies, effectively enhancing the processing accuracy and production switch efficiency of MiC components.

At the same time, each module is equipped with a unique number and a QR code "ID card," which allows its production status, quality information and logistics information to be tracked in real-time through a digital platform, achieving full lifecycle visualisation and traceable management. Relying on intelligent manufacturing capabilities, AluHouse can respond more quickly to the construction demands of MiC modules of various specifications and types, providing solid support for the large-scale, fast-paced delivery of the SS N520 light public housing project.

On the same day, in front of the entire audience, the last MiC component of the Ma'anshan Hengguang Street project was precisely hoisted into place in just about ten minutes, once again demonstrating the project's efficient and orderly construction organisation capability. He Yongxian specifically mentioned that the project achieved a construction speed of 'one MiC component hoisted in ten minutes' and 'one floor in three days', fully demonstrating the powerful effectiveness unleashed by the implementation of innovative construction methods in Hong Kong.

The final MiC module of the Hengguang Street project in Ma'anshan was successfully hoisted, once again demonstrating the practical vitality of the "international standards + Hong Kong regulations + Bay Area intelligent manufacturing" model, as well as the greater value released by the "Hong Kong front office + Bay Area back office" collaboration mechanism. As the "front office," Hong Kong relies on an international standard system, mature project management experience, and precise understanding of local regulations to coordinate project planning, design collaboration, and performance management; as the "back office," the Bay Area provides stable, efficient, and sustainable production support through a complete industrial chain, mature intelligent manufacturing infrastructure, and abundant industrial workforce resources. The efficient coordination between the front and back offices not only integrates the standards, design, manufacturing, transportation, and installation processes but also transforms cross-regional collaborative construction into practical project delivery capability.

When the last MiC module of the Hengguang Street project in Ma'anshan was securely placed, what was completed was not only the building itself but also a commitment to providing stable housing for grassroots families. From detailed drawings to factory manufacturing, from smart logistics to on-site hoisting, from technical breakthroughs to realisation in people's livelihoods, AluHouse has always believed that modular construction is not only an innovation in building methods but also a practical path towards ensuring that everyone has a home and quality living conditions.

As Hong Kong's light public housing programme enters the stage of delivering results, AluHouse will continue to leverage its technological expertise and manufacturing advantages in the MiC field, working with partners to provide more high-quality, replicable, and scalable modular building solutions for Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area, allowing more families to move into safe, comfortable, and welcoming new homes sooner.