Virtual drill: Chief Secretary for Administration Rafael Hui, accompanied by Secretary for Security Ambrose Lee, inspect the multi-agency coordination centre during the MC6 preparedness exercise.

Forty-four government departments and agencies have successfully completed the largest-ever multi-agency exercises designed to test their preparedness and response to a wide range of incidents that may occur during next month's WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, the Security Bureau says.

This exercise, the fifth in a series with the biggest command post, was completed late last night. About 25 departmental/agency emergency-control centres were activated at multiple locations during the exercise.

Simulated scenarios tested key departmental resopnse work plans' workability and effectiveness, the interface compatibility of existing departmental communication systems and the interface between a control Multi-Agency Coordination Centre and existing departmental command and control systems.

The bureau said it provided a good opportunity for relevant departments and agencies to practice their response to incidents of varying degrees of seriousness and to identify areas for improvement.

The series of exercises, the first of which started on September 23, were planned by the bureau's exercise-planning team consisting of officers with wide-ranging experience in emergency and crisis management.