PolyU to host International Low-Altitude Economy Summit on 9 October, aiming to advance the Greater Bay Area’s aviation logistic hub

In support of the HKSAR Government’s drive to foster innovation and technology development and promote the development of a low-altitude economy (LAE) ecosystem by hosting flagship events as announced by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address delivered last week, and with the aim of positioning Hong Kong as an Asia-Pacific hub for innovative low-altitude applications, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) will host the International Low-Altitude Economy Summit (the Summit) at the Chiang Chen Studio Theatre on 9 October (Thursday). Members of the public and industry professionals are welcome to register for the event.

The Summit is organised by PolyU, with the support of the Working Group on Developing the Low-altitude Economy of the HKSAR Government and the Greater Bay Area Low-altitude Economy Alliance (LAEA). The event will gather over 40 leaders from government and business, as well as scholars and industry practitioners from Hong Kong, the Mainland and overseas to share insights, focusing on topics such as low-altitude airspace management, industry development models and urban applications, with the aim of advancing the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA) aviation logistic hub. An Innovation Showcase will be held concurrently, featuring around 30 government departments, academic institutions and enterprises presenting cutting-edge technology applications and the LAE Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects.

The Summit is honoured to have Mr Michael WONG, Deputy Financial Secretary of HKSAR Government; Dr LAM Tai-fai, Council Chairman of PolyU; and The Hon Elizabeth QUAT, Member of the Legislative Council of the HKSAR and Founding President of LAEA, as officiating guests, and Dr BI Qi, Chief Scientist of China Telecom, as the keynote speaker. Two fireside chats will also be held on the day. Mr Kevin CHOI, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the HKSAR Government, and Prof. Christopher CHAO, Vice President (Research and Innovation) of PolyU, will join distinguished representatives from government, civil aviation and other authorities, business leaders, scholars and industry experts, including leading electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) and low-altitude systems developers, from around the globe, to discuss policy directions for LAE and collaborative innovation across industry and academia respectively.

In the afternoon, four parallel sessions will focus on: policy frameworks for LAE development in Hong Kong and various provinces and cities in the Mainland; progress updates on ongoing Regulatory Sandbox projects; unmanned aircraft system traffic management in the GBA and technological advances in unmanned aerial vehicles; and hardware, software and system integration innovations for unmanned aerial vehicles.

PolyU is committed to supporting technology development related to LAE. Established last year, the University’s Research Centre for Low-altitude Economy has launched multiple interdisciplinary research initiatives spanning infrastructure deployment and low-altitude airspace operations, as well as intelligent sensing and control technologies. Additionally, in September this year, PolyU launched a Master of Science programme in Low-altitude Economy with the aim of nurturing specialised talent for the sector.

For more information about the International Low-altitude Economy Summit and registration details, please visit: https://events.polyu.edu.hk/ilaesummit2025/home

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