A launch event was held today for the low-altitude economy “Regulatory Sandbox X” initiative, with Secretary for Transport & Logistics Mable Chan and Director-General of Civil Aviation Victor Liu officiating.

The initiative will promote the development of Hong Kong's low-altitude economy and support the the exploration of innovative applications.

Speaking at the event, Ms Chan highlighted that the initiative was announced in September by Chief Executive John Lee, in his 2025 Policy Address.

She explained that the “X” in “Regulatory Sandbox X” represents “extended” and “extra”, and that the scheme will facilitate complex low-altitude applications, such as cross-boundary drones, unconventional passenger aircraft, and integrated operation platforms.

In addition, she mentioned that low-altitude projects launched in March have already unleashed vitality into the sector and created new prospects for Hong Kong.

Ms Chan said: “We will continue to engage with the industry and gather diverse perspectives to enable the drafting of the Action Plan on Developing Low-Altitude Economy by the end of next year. This will establish the foundational infrastructure for the top-level design of the entire low-latitude economy, providing the industry with a clear and forward-looking trajectory.”

The first batch of 38 “Regulatory Sandbox X” projects includes 29 projects that have already been implemented. They span a wide range of fields and application scenarios, including emergency and rescue, logistics and distribution, inspections and safety maintenance, surveillance, and low-altitude infrastructure.

Also today, the Project Facilitation Task Force under the Working Group on Developing Low-altitude Economy provided a detailed briefing on the “Regulatory Sandbox X” to nearly 200 industry professionals.

Applications are open from today until January 9, with an emphasis on unmanned aircraft system traffic management system demonstrations.

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