Steady Growth and Strategic Focus
In 2024/25, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund (EMSTF) experienced another year of steady growth, with total revenue rising to HK$9,833 million, a 6% increase from the previous year. The return on revenue increased slightly to 2.4%, reflecting our continued effort to adhere to the cost-recovery principle while enabling clients to retain funding for their public services.
The year 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the EMSTF. As we prepare for the celebrations, our focus remains on continuously evolving to meet client expectations for service quality and value. Our excellent engineering services have proven indispensable amid economic uncertainties, and we anticipate stable development while remaining vigilant at all times against potential headwinds.
Client Engagement and Service Expansion
We are delighted to report continued client confidence, with all Service Level Agreements (SLAs) successfully renewed in 2024/25. Notably, the Hospital Authority has issued a letter of intent to enter into a ten-year SLA starting in 2027, covering electrical, mechanical and air-conditioning services. This will enhance revenue stability, but necessitate workforce expansion for service delivery through the Non-Civil Service Contract Staff Scheme, the Post-retirement Service Contract Scheme and other recruitment channels. To meet growing service demands, we will further embrace innovation and technology (I&T), including artificial intelligence (AI), to automate operation and maintenance tasks and improve efficiency.
The EMSTF Customer Opinion Survey (COS) 2024 affirmed our client-focused approach, achieving historic highs with a Customer Satisfaction Index of 7.27 and an Overall Service Competitiveness Index of 7.38 on an eight-point scale, along with a robust response rate of 64%. The COS provides valuable insights and suggestions for our continuous improvement.
Innovation Culture and Achievements
Our efforts to facilitate I&T development via the E&M InnoPortal and other initiatives have fostered a culture of innovation among our staff and clients alike. Our collaborative I&T projects with clients have garnered international recognition, including the Two-phase Immersion Cooling System for High Performance Computer Workstation, jointly developed with the Civil Aviation Department. The project won the Prize of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, one of the top accolades at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva 2025. The prize represents a great honour and recognition at a government level for the winning project. This is also the first time that departments of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government have received this award.
Building on our success in cultivating an innovation culture and launching various I&T projects for proof of concept, we will, in the coming years, focus on consolidating and prioritising those projects with successfully verified concepts and formulate implementation plans for large-scale deployment in client venues, with a view to achieving energy or manpower savings.
Priority Technologies: MiMEP, Open BIM and AI
We have identified Multi-trade integrated Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MiMEP), open Building Information Modelling (open BIM) and AI technologies as top priorities in view of their potential value to clients and the E&M trade.
While MiMEP is useful for new projects, it is also valuable in expediting repair, maintenance, alteration and addition (RMAA) projects in existing buildings. During the year, we successfully commenced numerous MiMEP pilot projects, including the replacement of an air-handling unit at Princess Margaret Hospital, and chillers at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital and the Customs Headquarters Building. Based on the data obtained, MiMEP reduced the average number of on-site working days by up to 60%, while delivering energy savings and long-term maintenance benefits from replacement of ageing equipment. The significance of reduced working days is especially pronounced in hospitals, where limited winter maintenance windows demand swift equipment replacement to minimise disruption to hospital operations. More and more RMAA contracts mandating MiMEP usage will also incentivise small- and medium-sized E&M contractors to acquire MiMEP knowledge and hands-on experience, thereby elevating the E&M industry capabilities as a whole and enhancing asset management.
Another priority is open BIM. Although the Government has been driving BIM development for years, we are not yet at a stage to achieve interoperability across BIM platforms. We will utilise our BIM expertise to accelerate interoperability between different BIM software and stakeholders, develop an open BIM viewer, and promote open BIM standards and workflows, with a view to reducing the risk of brand dependence and enhancing BIM collaboration among different engineering professionals. We will continue to explore various possibilities of open BIM applications on design, construction and asset management.
Our list of priority technologies would not be complete without AI. As highlighted by the Chief Executive at the World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit in Hong Kong in April 2025, AI is “central to Hong Kong’s future”. Following our successful organisation of the Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities 2025, and the successful launch of our award-winning in-house-developed ChillStream® AI-based chiller optimisation solution, we will continue to leverage AI to help clients save energy and boost efficiency.
We have also observed a growing market demand for secure AI data storage, AI project facilitation and AI capacity building. As the Innovation Facilitator for the Government, the EMSTF is committed to meeting these needs by establishing an on-premises AI infrastructure for data handling, and connecting market partners to provide clients with AI project facilitation and training services. This would be a major undertaking with exciting potential, and we are exploring the feasibility with relevant stakeholders.
Capacity Building in Priority Technologies
To accelerate client adoption of proven I&T solutions and advance the development of the above three priority technologies, a key to success will be fostering a technology- and training-driven mindset among our staff, including reforming our Engineering Graduate and Technician Training Schemes. We will also provide suitable I&T training for our in-service staff at all ranks, including arranging technical visits for our professional and technical grade colleagues to MiMEP plants in the Greater Bay Area to broaden their exposure. A related initiative is to boost staff job satisfaction by modernising their work to keep up with the times.
Mainland and International Collaboration
Collaboration has expedited our I&T development and training efforts in recent years. The signing of two Memoranda of Co-operation with the Guangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau to promote E&M training serves as an example of effective collaboration. Various institutes in Guangzhou have provided high-quality E&M courses for our colleagues, including Technician Trainees preparing for the WorldSkills Competition. As electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly prevalent in the government fleet, we will continue expanding training opportunities for our staff in areas such as EV maintenance.
In 2025, we reached new heights at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva by winning a total of 12 awards for ten invention projects. These accolades include the Prize of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, two gold medals with the congratulations of jury, four gold medals, one silver medal, three bronze medals and the Best International Invention and Innovation prize. Many of the award-winning projects were co-developed inventions with our clients, underscoring the strength of our collaborative innovation.
We also organised a large-scale international event, the Global AI Challenge for Building E&M Facilities, in collaboration with the Guangdong Association for Science and Technology in 2025, building on the success of the inaugural competition in 2021/22. The 2025 event attracted over 200 teams of contestants from 26 regions across the globe, with approximately 500 in-person participants and 30000 livestream viewers worldwide, showing the burgeoning global interest in AI applications for the construction and E&M sectors.
Strategic Plan, Environmental Stewardship and Governance
With good progress already made, the remainder of our third Five-year Strategic Plan will focus on scaling proven I&T solutions. We will incentivise clients to translate research and development outcomes into practical applications. Our overarching goal is to help clients optimise operational efficiency and reduce energy and manpower costs by adopting proven I&T solutions.
On the environmental front, we continued to support clients’ energy-saving projects, help them replace aged lighting and chiller systems with ultra-energy-efficient models and optimise energy performance using AI and other big data solutions. Client departments such as the Hospital Authority and the Hong Kong Police Force, with extensive venue portfolios, stand to benefit from substantial energy savings.
To support decarbonisation through promoting new energy vehicles, we continued to provide technical advice to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department for its pilot trial of three carbon-neutral hydrogen fuel cell street washing vehicles. In addition, we are conducting a pilot project to install Building-Integrated Photovoltaics system on the facades of the EMSD Headquarters, with data collection in progress to assess the feasibility of broader adoption in public and private buildings.
When it comes to governance, integrity is at our core. We have been upholding integrity by providing regular integrity briefings to both new and existing staff, so as to ensure all staff and contractors adhere to laws and ethical standards.
Supporting Major Events in 2025/26
Two upcoming major events are the 15th National Games of the People’s Republic of China in November 2025 and the Legislative Council (LegCo) General Election in December 2025.
The National Games, co-hosted by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, mark Hong Kong’s debut as a co-host of a national sports event. Hong Kong will stage eight sports competitions and one mass participation event. The EMSTF is honoured to support the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and other clients in upgrading their venues and monitoring the operation of E&M facilities to ensure smooth running of all competitions.
As in previous election years, we will provide technical support for the 2025 LegCo General Election scheduled for early December. Thousands of our staff and contractors will be deployed to polling and counting stations throughout Hong Kong to set up the necessary lighting and E&M facilities, and to provide on-site standby support on the election day.
Appreciation and Thankfulness
Since assuming the deputy role at the EMSTF in mid-2024, I have been privileged to help steer this agile organisation, which is committed to continuous transformation and excellence in serving Hong Kong. On behalf of the entire team, I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to the Executive Board and the policy bureaux for their guidance, to our clients for their trust, to our colleagues for their dedication and great work, and to our many collaborative partners across Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas, including trade associations, industry bodies, academia, professional bodies, training and research institutions, and more for their staunch support.
With continued innovation and collaboration, we are confident that the EMSTF will maintain steady performance while breaking new ground in I&T development.
Vincent Chow
Deputy Director/Trading Services, EMSD