Hong Kong’s civil service teams that handled wartime bombs and a light public housing project were awarded the Chief Executive's Award for Exemplary Performance on Friday for their contributions to improving people’s living environment and for safeguarding the city’s safety.

Officiating at the award presentation ceremony, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that the cross-departmental teams demonstrated firm resolve and exceptional competence in efficiently fulfilling their duties. Lee also said the teams earned the trust of the residents, embodying the government’s governance philosophy of taking responsibility, and being resident- and result-oriented.

“They fully exemplified the professional spirit of civil servants in rising to challenges and pursuing excellence, setting a benchmark for the entire civil servants team,” Lee said.

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Launched in 2023, the award aims to command exemplary teams or individuals in the civil service, with a view to encouraging civil servants to constantly strive for improvement. It enables the public to have a better understanding of the government's unwavering efforts and the excellence of the civil service through wide publicity.

In response to the discovery of a 1,000-pound (454-kilogram) World War II bomb in Quarry Bay in September 2025, the Security Bureau’s Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre swiftly activated contingency plan and establish a cross-department task force to handle it. The task force was formed by nearly 500 people from the Hong Kong Police Force, the Fire Services Department, the Civil Aid Service, and the Auxiliary Medical Service.

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They worked closely together and demonstrated a high level of professionalism and teamwork to conduct an evacuation and bomb-disposal operation, and finally enabled successful disposal the crisis in a safe and orderly manner, Lee said.

About 3,000 residents were evacuated in a short time, and the CAS Command Centre also operated at full capacity to provide command and support.

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Regarding the interdepartmental team dedicated to the city’s Light Public Housing project under the operation of the Housing Bureau and the Architectural Services Department, Lee said that it made use of modular integrated construction methods and standardized designs to significantly enhance construction efficiency, helping to reduce the overall waiting time for public housing by 1.3 years. As a result, residents with urgent housing needs have been allocated flats and can move in earlier.

The entire LPH project, comprising 30,000 units, will collectively save residents over HK$7.5 billion ($955.8 million) in rental expenses, alleviating the financial burden on grassroots families and improving their quality of life, Lee said.

Lee said that this term of government has continuously pursued reform and innovation with a results-oriented approach. The civil servants have shown a spirit of dedication, willingness to take on challenges, and a strong sense of responsibility, he said.

Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com