This document outlines key considerations for developing Hong Kong's data centre regulatory landscape. It discusses: 1) Availability of suitable land and space for data centres, including releasing development controls, redeveloping industrial buildings, and exploring underground cavern sites. 2) Ensuring adequate power supply while promoting environmental sustainability and energy efficiency in data centre infrastructure and operations. 3) Addressing manpower needs like recruiting and training skilled data centre professionals. 4) Preparing for emerging technologies like cloud computing by addressing issues like data security.

1. Roadmap towards
Hong Kong Data
Centre Regulatory
Landscape
Charles Mok
Legislative Councillor (IT)
4 July 2013

2. Availability of land and space
Power supply / Environmental
and energy saving issue
Manpower needs
Emerging technical
opportunities and challenges
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3
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3. 1 Availability of land and space
Release development control in HK
 Land use restrictions in Government leases
- Height and density
 Town planning zoning
- IT&T industries are permitted in areas zoned as
Commercial, Industrial, Other Uses (Business), Other
Uses (Mixed), Other Uses (Industrial Estates), and
Residential.
- Permission for Comprehensive Development Areas, mostly
urban renewal areas.
 Building Ordinance
- Supporting facilities such as transformer rooms, UPS
(uninterruptible power supply), backup power generators, oil
tanks, air-conditioning systems and fire safety systems

4. 1 Availability of land and space
Need for more suitable land and space
 An additional 170 000 sq metres of RFS
required for data centres by 2015,
including some 47 000 sq metres for high-
tier ones (Ref: OGCIO)
17.8 h
1 h2 h
Totally 17.8 hectares
of land for data centre
development in
Tseng Kwan O
2 extra hectares of land
in Tseng Kwan O for
future development
While 1 hectare will
be available for open
bidding during 28 Jun
to 4 Oct 2013

5. 1 Availability of land and space
Site acquisition
Greenfield Sites in Open Market
 9 commercial sites in the land Program;
only 2 are planned to be available this
year.
 As bidding take place on a competitive
pricing basis, successful bid for data
centre use is unlikely.
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6. 1 Availability of land and space
Redevelopment of Industrial Buildings
for Other Uses
 Owners are allowed to pay 80% of the premium
by annual instalments over 5 years at a fixed
rate of interest (if the premium exceeds HK$20
million).
 Exemption from paying waiver fee for change
of land use
 However, application should not generally be
less than 60% of the maximum permitted
density: an optimal use in terms of
value?
60%
Permitted
density

7. 1 Availability of land and space
Wholesale and partial conversion
 Lands Department issues waivers to owners of
industrial premises which facilitates the setting up
of data centres.
 The conversion works must be completed within 3
years after the granting of the waiver.
 The building must not be less than 15 years old
calculated from the date of the occupation permit.
 The waiver lasts for the lifetime of the building or
until the expiry of the current lease, whichever is
earlier, and the building cannot be used otherwise
than for the newly permitted use without further
consent from the Government.
Application
By
31 March
2016

8. 1 Availability of land and space
HK Science & Technology Parks
 Should consider to make more land available
for co-location data centre use.
 The lessee cannot sub-lease or licence
space to a third party.
 Hosting, managed and outsourcing services
are acceptable within this restriction but co-
location services is not.
 Artificial and ambiguous?

9. 1 Availability of land and space
Underground Cavern Sites (Rock Cavern
Development)
 Ownership of the sub-surface can be
stratified into different levels by means of
separate land grants from the Government.
 The Land Resumption Ordinance would
require some statutory modification to clarify
its scope.
 Currently there is no right to claim
compensation for blight on the surface or
neighboring properties – impact with EIAO

10. 1 Availability of land and space
Underground Cavern Sites
 Underground uses may raise environmental
problems:
- Lowering of local groundwater tables through
pumping
- Discharges from facilities, including into
underground water systems
- Disposal of excavated material
- Destruction of buried heritage site

11. 2 Power supply / Environmental
and energy-saving issue
Infrastructure
 HK has 9 submarine cable systems, 17
overland cable systems and eight
satellites support our
telecommunications network
 2 new submarine cable systems will be
landed in HK from 2012 to 2013

12. 2 Power supply / Environmental
and energy-saving issue
Consumption
 The power consumption of a high-tier data
centre (requiring about 20 – 30 MVA or
mega volt amperes) can be as much as 10-
15 times that of a 320-unit residential
building (typically requiring about 2 MVA
electricity).
 Necessary to mandate compliance with
specified environmental requirements, such
as power efficiency and certification by
recognized bodies?
 Concerns over change in tariff regime

13. 2 Power supply / Environmental
and energy-saving issue
HK Government Programs
 Under BEEO, Building Energy Code
(BEC), Energy Audit Code (EAC) and related
measures are implemented for building services
installations including air-conditioning, electrical
and lighting and lift/escalator installations.
 The FWCT Scheme is applicable to data centres
that adopt water-cooled air-conditioning systems
using fresh water cooling towers.

14. 2 Power supply / Environmental
and energy-saving issue
Green Data Centre
 Promote renewable energy (Data Centres
in HK: <1% Renewable energy, 54% Coal,
23% Nuclear, 23% Natural Gas)
 Energy-saving measures in construction
and operation, optimization of air flow and
chiller systems, virtualization of computer
servers

15. 2 Power supply / Environmental
and energy-saving issue
Green Data Centre
 Review Town Planning (increase
infrastructures for water cooling)
 Promote central water cooling system (as
in Science Park)
 Establish tax credit for data center with
environmental-friendly installation and
innovation

16. 2 Power supply / Environmental
and energy-saving issue
Green Data Centre
 Collaborate with electricity / other utilities to
develop renewable energy
- Sustainable energy efficiency
- Dual / Smart grid practice
- ‘Off-Peak Electricity’ energy saving
initiative (energy return and cash rebate)
- Use of landfill gas

17. 3 Manpower Needs
 Difficulties in recruiting highly skilled and
experienced data centre managers, architects,
and operators
 Review overall manpower and education
policies
 Professional certification development
 Increase cooperation among industries and
educational institutes for professional training

18. 4 Emerging technical
opportunities and challenges
 Cloud Computing
 Security
- data protection

19. Thank you!
Charles Mok
charlesmok@charlesmok.hk
www.charlesmok.hk
With credit to Hilary Cordell of Cordells for part
of the information in this presentation