Hong Kong will roll out an action plan next year to develop its low-altitude economy, and passenger drone trials could begin once approved by the civil aviation chief, the deputy financial secretary has said.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun announced the plan at the International Low-Altitude Economy Summit on Thursday, while lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pei-fan said after the event that a key challenge for the sector was turning projects from the government’s regulatory sandbox into viable commercial ventures.

The summit, held at Polytechnic University, brought together more than 1,000 industry representatives and experts to explore various aspects of the low-altitude economy.

The term refers to economic activities in airspace below 1,000 metres (3,281 feet), including goods delivered by drones and passenger flights using electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

“We hope to test some unmanned aerial vehicles that could carry people,” Wong said.

He said individual tests could begin once the director-general of civil aviation deemed them appropriate.