The General Specification for Civil Engineering Works lays down the quality of materials, the standards of workmanship, the testing methods and the acceptance criteria for civil engineering works undertaken for the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Where necessary, this General Specification should be supplemented by a particular specification. The 2006 Edition of the General Specification comprises considerable greening of the Eighth Reprint of the 1992 Edition (October 2002) according to the current green practices of the construction industry. The text relating to "green measures" is printed in green colour in this Edition with a view to making it easier for reader's reference. It was produced over a 15-month period from March 2005 under the guidance of a Steering Committee comprising members from the main Government departments involved in civil engineering works. The greening of each section was undertaken by a works department with the appropriate expertise. The Standards Unit of Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) was responsible for the overall co-ordination of comments received from departmental circulation, editing and production of the document. Amd 1/2007 Sustainability is the prime objective of the 2006 Edition. Two new sections, viz. Environmental Protection (Section 25) and Preservation and Protection of Trees (Section 26) have been created. The original Section 22 for Railways Works has been deleted, as construction of railways is no more the responsibility of works departments. The 2006 Edition comprises 26 sections and is posted on the CEDD Homepage on the Internet. The General Specification will be updated continuously. The electronic files of the sections affected by any amendment issued will be kept up-to-date on the CEDD Homepage.