COVID-19 - Government Support for Construction Sector in Hong Kong | Insights

The Hong Kong SAR Government has announced on 19 March 2020, 1 April 2020 and 8 April 2020 various Anti-epidemic Fund measures to relieve financial burdens of the construction sector caused by COVID-19. Details of the measures are as follows:

First round of the Anti-epidemic Fund

Target Beneficiaries	Subsidy
Eligible Consultants, Contractors, Registered Specialist Trade Contractors and Registered Subcontractors	HK$50,000 per company*
Eligible Registered Construction Worker	HK$1,500 per person*
Eligible construction workers engaged in small-scale works outside construction site	HK$1,000 per person
Eligible small and medium enterprise consultants	HK$20,000 per company

*The deadline for application is 31 August 2020.

Second round of the Anti-epidemic Fund

Target Beneficiaries	Subsidy
Eligible Registered Construction Worker	HK$7,500 per person
Eligible contractor, specialist contractor and supplier, and company member of major construction-related trade associations	HK$20,000 per company
Eligible Registered Minor Works Contractor, Registered Electrical Contractor, Registered Gas Contractor, Registered Lift / Escalator Contractor, Registered Contractor under Builders’ Lifts and Tower Working Platforms (Safety) Ordinance, Registered Fire Service Installation Contractor and supplier of construction-related machineries and equipment rental	HK$10,000 per company

The HKSAR Government has also implemented other relief to enhance flexibility in handling Government works and non-works contracts and other development projects:

Works contracts: the HKSAR Government will extend the deadline for project completion and relax the payment schedules.
Non-works contracts: the HKSAR Government will relax the payment schedules and will encourage procuring departments to provide more frequent payments to contractors, break up milestones in payment schedules into more deliverables, provide larger sums for upfront/milestone payments and compress normal payment cycle from 30 days to around one to two weeks.
Other development projects: the Lands Department will extend the Building Covenant period for development projects by up to six months in land leases.

The relevant departments such as the Development Bureau, the Lands Department and the Construction Industry Council have announced some of the implementation and application details and will announce further details shortly.

More details of the above measures can be found at
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202003/19/P2020031900552.htm;
https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202004/01/P2020040100688.htm;
https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202004/08/P2020040800810_339425_1_1586360416762.pdf;
http://www.cic.hk/eng/main/anti_epidemic_fund/.

See also our In Brief concerning Government Support for Employers in Hong Kong:
https://covid19.mayerbrown.com/stimulus-employers-in-hong-kong-get-government-support/.