Mum who builds bridges to women in construction

Helen Leung – executive director, transport with consultancy firm Aecom

To many visitors and Hong Kong people alike, the Tsing Ma Bridge, part of the vital link between Lantau Island and the rest of the territory, is nothing short of an engineering marvel. However, to the teenage son and daughter of Helen Leung, executive director, transport with consultancy firm Aecom, the world’s largest suspension bridge of its type carrying both motor vehicles and a railway is always referred to as “Mum’s” bridge.

The Tsing Ma Bridge also holds a special place in Leung’s career satisfaction portfolio. Over the years she has been closely involved with a number of Hong Kong’s iconic infrastructure projects. “It was the first project I worked on after finishing my studies in the UK and returning to Hong Kong to join Mott MacDonald’s bridges and highways department in the late 1980’s,” Leung recalls. 
 

Having earned her MSc in construction management from Britain’s Birmingham University, Leung joined a team of international civil engineering and construction experts to work on the HK$7.2 billion Tsing Ma Bridge project, one of nine large-scale infrastructure projects with Hong Kong International Airport as the centrepiece. “It was a fantastic way to begin my career, I learned so much and was able to do so many different things during the decade the Airport Core Programme was taking place,” says Leung, ho at the time was one of a handful of women in the construction industry. 

These days, as a senior civil engineer, Leung is herself a mentor, motivator and source of inspiration to a team of professionals that includes a growing number of women. “I try to pass on my enthusiasm and passion,” she says, pointing out that the talent shortage in the construction industry has led to firms stepping up their efforts to redress the gender imbalance, with many making a concerted effort to attract, recruit and retain women in their organisations. “I would encourage anybody who has an interest in any construction industry-related career to pursue that interest,” Leung says.