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Plans are in the pipeline to transform an industrial building into a complex where English is the only language.

The chairman of the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research, Cheng Kai-ming, said everyone would have to communicate in English in a facility given a new meaning in life.

The financial secretary announced with last month’s budget that HK$5 billion was to be injected into the Language Fund to help with long-term aims of a broad and linguistically smart community.

The committee was established to provide advice to the government on language education and on how best to use the Language Fund.

Cheng told Sing Tao Daily, The Standard’s sister publication, that one of his plans for the new funding is to revitalize a vacant industrial building in Northern District or Tuen Mun, where the all-English environment could be created.

People would have to speak in English when they use facilities such as restaurants and hair salons in the mall- like complex. And offices there could be rented to English organizations.

Preliminarily talks are being held with business chambers, Cheng added.

“As schools in Hong Kong are lacking an environment for English language, we hope that there will be more chances for students to speak and use English,” he said.

A government source revealed earlier that the HK$5 billion was meant to be seed money with an annual return of HK$250 million from projects.

There would also be support for teachers of Chinese to take courses on how best to help non-Chinese students learn the language.

Set up in 1994, the Language Fund provides financial support for projects and activities aimed at promoting bi-literacy and tri- lingualism among Hongkongers, including programs to support non-Chinese- speaking students learning Chinese.

The fund has since its inception had six injections of finance totaling HK$3.5 billion.