Policy Address

XI. Sports and Culture

Sports Development

218. In recent years, the Government has allocated substantial additional resources to promote sports in the community, support elite sports and maintain Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events. Over the past 10 years, the number of elite sports supported by the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) has increased from 13 to 17. The number of athletes trained by the Institute has risen from about 650 to over 1 200, with full-time athletes increasing from about 180 to over 330 within five years. Hong Kong athletes have excelled in major international sports events and our squad as a whole has grown stronger. Hong Kong athletes have also done really well in world level competitions of non-Olympic sports, such as tenpin bowling, billiards and squash. We need to step up our efforts in terms of provision of financial resources and venues, as well as elite sports development so as to support Hong Kong athletes in achieving better results.

219. I have decided to significantly increase the provision of sports facilities, and will spend a total of $20 billion in the coming five years to launch 26 projects to develop new or improve existing sports and recreation facilities amounting to a total of 54, including two sports grounds, nine football pitches, one sports centre, four swimming pool complexes, two lawn bowling greens, one cycling ground, four tennis courts, 11 outdoor basketball courts and 20 open spaces. The Government will conduct technical feasibility study for another 15 sports and recreation facility projects to prepare for their implementation. Besides, pre-construction works for the Kai Tak Sports Park, the largest sports project to be built in Hong Kong, are close to completion.

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