The Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Mr Lam Sai-hung, started his visit to Hangzhou today (December 7) to learn about the smart mobility development in the city.
In the morning, Mr Lam met with representatives of Hangzhou Transportation Bureau, Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Economy and Informatization as well as Hangzhou Traffic Police to understand their latest transport policies and relevant regulatory work in traffic management. They also exchanged views on the trending autonomous vehicles and its associated challenges.
Mr Lam then visited Antu Technology Innovation (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd to learn about the development of intelligent connected vehicle rental services. He also took a ride on an autonomous vehicle from Binjiang District to Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, the first of its kind in Hangzhou being tested on open roads, to gain first-hand experience of the sensitive performance of autonomous vehicles under different scenarios on open roads.
"The Smart Mobility Roadmap for Hong Kong and the Smart City Blueprint for HK 2.0 provide a vision to realize the trials and use of autonomous vehicles on public roads in HK. The Transport and Logistics Bureau, together with the Transport Department, will soon propose legislative amendments to the Legislative Council for establishing a flexible regulatory framework to cope with the evolving autonomous driving technology. The successful experience of the Mainland and other overseas cities will be conducive to the long-term development of autonomous vehicles in HK," Mr Lam said.
Upon arrival at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, Mr Lam received a briefing by representatives of the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) on the latest development at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. The AAHK has been proactively sharing experience and co-operating with Mainland airports based on the principle of "what the country needs, and what HK is good at". The AAHK has participated in the operation and management of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport since 2006, and is now holding 35-per-cent shares of Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport, which is an example of how HK and Mainland cities can leverage their respective strengths on a complementary principle.
Mr Lam will return to HK in the evening after his four-day visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou.
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