Hong Kong Government Prepares Subsidies For Cleaner Manufacturing Projects

Hong Kong companies operating factories in Hong Kong or Guangdong Province in the Chinese mainland may apply for funding support under a new scheme to promote cleaner manufacturing.

Hong Kong's Environmental Protection Department started receiving applications under the Cleaner Production Partnership Programme on April 1, 2013. This new phase of the scheme will run for two years to March 31, 2015.

In April 2008, the EPD launched a five-year Cleaner Production Partnership Programme with an approved allocation of about HKD93 million in collaboration with the Economic and Information Commission of Guangdong Province to encourage and facilitate Hong Kong-owned factories in the Pearl River Delta region to adopt cleaner production technologies and practices. In light of the scheme's environmental benefits and positive feedback from industry, the EPD has extended the scheme for two years with a funding of HKD50 million.

The companies may apply for funds to carry out three types of projects.

The first type of project revolves around on-site improvement assessments to identify cleaner production solutions for their factories. Hong Kong will share half of the assessment cost with a funding ceiling of HKD25,000 per factory.

Next, the government wants to promote demonstration projects to showcase the effectiveness of cleaner production technologies through installation of equipment or modification of production processes. The government will share half of the cost with a funding ceiling of HKD300,000 per project.

Third, verification services to assess the effectiveness of cleaner production projects carried out by the applicants is also a key concern. Hong Kong's government will subsidize the cost with a ceiling of HKD20,000 per project.

While the new phase of the government subsidy scheme will continue to provide technical support for factories on the enhancement of energy efficiency and reduction of air pollutants and effluent discharges, particular focus will be placed on encouraging the wider use of volatile organic compound and nitrogen oxide reduction technologies and production processes. Also, the geographical coverage will be widened to cover the entire area of Guangdong.

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