The Development Bureau (DEVB) and works departments bagged nine Martin Barnes Awards, including two prestigious winner awards.

An award ceremony was held yesterday in London, the UK, where Hong Kong won nine awards from the 27 awards in eight categories among 80 entries worldwide.

Hong Kong earned two of the prestigious winner awards. While the Water Supplies Department received one for the Climate Change Initiative category for the implementation of Shek Wu Hui Water Reclamation Plant, the other award, for the Distinguished Contribution category, was given to Deputy Secretary for Development (Works) Tony Ho in recognition of his outstanding performance in promoting the application of the New Engineering Contract (NEC) in construction projects over the years.

Apart from the two winner awards, the DEVB, the Civil Engineering & Development, the Drainage Services, the Electrical & Mechanical Services and the Highways departments also received accolades for several notable NEC entries.

While sending her congratulations to the project teams on their impressive achievements, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn highlighted that the DEVB and works departments have been committed to promoting collaborative partnerships in the delivery of public works projects through the adoption of the NEC form, enhancing mutual trust and co-operation among different industry stakeholders.

“Such collaborative partnerships help accomplish the primary goals of project management and enhance management efficiency and cost-effectiveness of projects. The awards fully demonstrate that their efforts and accomplishments have been recognised internationally.”

Introduced by the DEVB for public works projects in the city in 2009, the NEC form embraces a collaborative partnership between clients and contractors, thereby enhancing project performance.

As of today, more than 760 public works contracts, with a total value of over $510 billion, have adopted the NEC form.

A prestigious honour in the industry, the Martin Barnes Awards are presented by the New Engineering Contract Users’ Group under the UK Institution of Civil Engineers. The awards recognise construction projects, organisations and individuals worldwide that have demonstrated excellence in project delivery through collaborative partnership.