'Low-altitude economy has huge potential in HK'

DAB lawmaker Elizabeth Quat said Hong Kong can't afford to fall behind the rest of the world in developing a low-altitude economy, adding that the market could exceed HK$1 trillion. Speaking on an RTHK programme, Quat, who's also the founding president of the Greater Bay Area Low-Altitude Economy Alliance, said she has met with a government working group on the matter, and the authorities plan to accept applications of pilot projects by the end of this year and unveil them next year. She said that many mainland cities have been developing low-altitude economies for a long time. "Some food-delivery agencies want to roll this out in Hong Kong, but of course, we have to try it first. They're in discussions with the authorities about where they can test it out. There are also delivery agencies that want to see if they can deliver from one point to another," she said. "Some companies are very creative, making drones that can inspect buildings, repair and maintain walls, or even wash windows. In fact, drones can even help with firefighting, rescue work and disaster relief." She added that low-altitude services like medicine delivery would be a huge benefit especially for the elderly and those living in outlying islands and village homes. On the possibility of services outside of Hong Kong, Quat suggested that the government first consider cooperating with Guangdong and Macau to offer helicopter rides for passengers. But she said cross-border food delivery won't be feasible because of food-safety concerns. In regards to general safety concerns, Quat said she thinks drones could be safer than driving. "There are many traffic accidents on the road, and if you are stuck in a traffic jam, you can only move forward, but not backwards. However, if you look at the sky, it's really infinite. You can have many different altitudes," she said. "The sky is so big that we can divide it into different heights such as 100 metres, 200 metres and 300 metres to fly different things. There could be different altitudes set for people, cargo, helicopters and rescue. These problems can all be solved technically."