Technical Seminar on Infrastructure Development in Hong Kong: The Economic Approach

Date, time & venue 
2011-03-21;6:30-8:00pm;Seminar Room, HKIE HQ

Programme Highlights

Hong Kong’s infrastructure is widely acknowledged to be among the best in the world.  We are officially ranked as having everything from the world’s best airport to the world’s best skyline.  Such assets continue to drive our economic growth and will continue to do so over the coming decade with significant additional infrastructure investment in the pipeline.

This presentation will consider the economic impact of infrastructure development and in particular the role of economics in the project investment cycle.  Common terms such as the financial and economic internal rate of return will be explained, the challenges of incorporating wider impacts into the evaluation process will be explored and the justification for providing public sector financial support will be investigated.  Above all, this presentation will show the crucial role that economics plays in determining whether infrastructure investments should proceed and how an appreciation of the power of economic tools can make the difference between a successful project and an expensive mistake as we seek to make sense of Hong Kong’s future infrastructure priorities.

Speaker

Tom Callahan, Senior Consultant at GHK (Hong Kong) Ltd., a leading international firm of economic and management consultants headquartered in London. 

Tom’s work focuses on the strategic planning and economic analysis aspects of major development proposals, including economic strategy work, feasibility studies, infrastructure impact assessments, cost-benefit analysis, area-based development programmes, business case development and policy evaluation.  Tom’s local experience includes work on many of Hong Kong’s most strategic assets and infrastructure development projects, he is currently project manager for the development of a new PPP approach for developing Hong Kong’s New Central Harbourfront and recently project managed HBF’s year-long study to establish the overriding business case for changing the way the Government plans, manages and develops our iconic Victoria Harbour.

A highly qualified economist and econometrician, Tom holds an MA honours degree in economics from Cambridge University and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics.