Reconstruction pact: Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam and Sichuan Provincial Development & Reform Commission Director Liu Jie sign a cooperation arrangement .

Hong Kong and Sichuan have signed a cooperation arrangement on the support of restoration and reconstruction in the Sichuan quake-stricken areas. A total of 20 reconstruction projects have been identified for implementation in the first stage.

These include projects on infrastructural facilities, medical services, education and social welfare services, with an estimated financial commitment of $1.897 billion.

Secretary for Constitutional & Mainland Affairs Stephen Lam and Sichuan Provincial Development & Reform Commission Director Liu Jie signed the document in Chengdu today.

Basic principles

According to the arrangement, projects directly funded by donations from Hong Kong will be identified by the Sichuan and Hong Kong sides through consultation. Hong Kong's assistance in taking forward the agreed projects should be undertaken on a project basis and in phases.

Each funded project will be a separate project. Project fund management should follow the principle that funds will be disbursed according to the work progress, and funds required will be released in installments, according to the work's progress and in keeping with Hong Kong's relevant financial legislation and rules.

Technical standards for the work projects should comply with the Mainland's rules and regulations and should be subject to an appropriate monitoring mechanism.

The Hong Kong Government's first-stage reconstruction projects will focus on urgent items, including a Sichuan Hong Kong Rehabilitation Centre in the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, and rebuilding medical facilities, schools and social welfare facilities in other areas of the province.

Hong Kong will also assist in the construction of a section of 303 Provincial Road from Yingxiu to Wolong to provide an access road so that full-scale reconstruction of the disaster-stricken Wolong area can begin as soon as possible.

For details of the cooperation arrangement, click here.

Meanwhile, non-governmental organisations in Hong Kong may participate in the reconstruction support work in three ways.

Hong Kong voluntary organisations which have already started relief programmes in stricken areas in Sichuan Province and have accumulated certain experience, will get the Sichuan Provincial Government's nod to continue with their work subject to the relevant procedural approval.

Hong Kong non-governmental organisations which take forward reconstruction support work in Sichuan with their own resources are not required to seek coordination with the Hong Kong Government and can directly contact the designated government departments in Sichuan. The Sichuan side will process the application in accordance with the relevant Mainland legislation.

Those groups that intend to apply to the Hong Kong Government for grants from the Fund in Support of Reconstruction in the Sichuan Earthquake Stricken Areas to take forward reconstruction work in the Sichuan stricken areas are required to form a partnership with a government department or organisation in Sichuan approved by the Sichuan Provincial Government.

Consent should be obtained from the relevant Sichuan government department for the reconstruction projects to ensure the projects tie in with the stricken areas' overall planning and needs.

The first round of invitation for application will start on October 13. The guidelines and application form can be downloaded here.

The general financial limit of the first round applications is set at $10 million per project, but the Hong Kong Government may consider applications of grant for over $10 million, depending on the special circumstances of individual cases.