Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn today lead delegations of the Development Bureau and the Legislative Council Panel on Development on a visit to Shanghai.

The delegations called on the Shanghai Water Authority (SWA) and met its Director General Shi Jiaming and officials to learn about their efforts in maintaining the city's resilience, flooding control and emergency handling measures as well as exchange views on related issues.

Ms Linn said that in the face of extreme weather, apart from enhancing the handling capacity of existing infrastructures and expediting relevant infrastructure projects, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has taken forward advance planning and engineering studies to build Hong Kong into a livable and resilient city.

The Development Bureau and the SWA emphasised that it would not be practical to pursue a design standard that mitigates all flooding risk without taking into account the cost consideration.

Instead, the capacity of flooding control should be enhanced through urban planning and flooding prevention management, and the whole of society should be well prepared for relevant contingency plans.

Ms Linn thanked the SWA for sharing its experiences and views, adding that she looked forward to further exchanges between the governments of both places on related issues in the future.

The delegations then had dinner with representatives of the Hong Kong community in Shanghai. The development chief commended their important role in the co-operation between the two cities and the contributions they have made to promote economic and cultural exchanges.

Ms Linn also said she looked forward to more co-operation and development opportunities between the two cities in the future.