Over the past 5 years, government bureaus or departments have launched a total of 116 mobile applications, with 38 of them already decommissioned, according to the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer.
Among the decommissioned applications are Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department’s “Country Parks Tree Walks”, Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau’s “A Basic Law Quiz A Day”, Home Affairs Bureau’s “ M Mark Events App” and the OGCIO’s “LeaveHomeSafe”.
OGCIO documents submitted to Legco also provided the numbers of download and usage statistics for the applications still in use by the authorities.
The most downloaded application is “MyObservatory” launched by the Hong Kong Observatory to provide weather information to mobile users. The number of downloads stands at 11 million as of Jan 31, 2024, followed by the Health Bureau’s “eHealth” at 3.2 million downloads.
Meanwhile, the OGCIO said it has formulated and regularly published relevant guidelines on the development of mobile apps for circulation, reminding government bureaus or departments to launch and update mobile apps, or to consolidate existing mobile apps, in a cost-effective manner.
Two applications – Buildings Department’s “Quick Guide for MBIS/MWIS” and “MWCS – Quick Guide for Minor Works” cost HK$326,200 and HK$334,200 respectively for their annual maintenance cost.
The “Quick Guide for MBIS/MWIS” was launched to provide the public with a convenient way to understand the city’s mandatory building and window inspection schemes, while the “MWCS – Quick Guide for Minor Works” was launched to provide the public with a handy way to access information about the procedures and requirements for carrying out minor works.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 