The Development Bureau punishes contractors, structural engineers, and project management consultants involved in construction issues at the Modular Housing Project site

The Buildings Department submitted an independent investigation report to the Housing Bureau and the Development Bureau on November 5 last year regarding improper construction issues at three "simplified public housing" project sites: Xiaolan Le Arrangement, Tuen Mun Yan Po Road, and Chai Wan Cheung On Street. After a detailed review, the authorities today (16th) accepted the findings of the independent investigation report, penalizing the involved contractor, structural engineer, and project management consultant, and instructing the Buildings Department to continue to strictly supervise the contractor and its project management consultant to expedite remedial work and immediately implement the improvement recommendations listed in the report.

In response to the investigation results, the Development Bureau has, according to regulatory mechanisms, requested the suspension of the bidding qualifications for all relevant categories of the security responsible for construction and related quality supervision work on the site for one year from the list of recognized public works contractors and recognized public works material suppliers and specialized contractors; as for Junhe Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., which is in a joint venture with the security, mainly providing strategic advice on project engineering planning and not involved in site construction and supervision, it is not subject to penalties; regarding the structural engineer hired by the contractor, the authorities have suspended the bidding qualifications for all relevant categories of Huang Zhiming Architectural Engineer Co., Ltd., responsible for providing and managing the involved on-site structural engineer, for one year from the "Selection Committee for Architectural and Related Consulting Firms" consultant list; and for the project management consultant hired by the Buildings Department, the bidding qualifications for all relevant categories of Wang Dong Architectural Firm, responsible for providing project management and managing on-site supervision, have been suspended for six months from the "Selection Committee for Architectural and Related Consulting Firms" consultant list. The six-month suspension period is set considering that it did not occur in all project sites.

The Housing Bureau has instructed the Buildings Department to continue to strictly urge the contractor to advance remedial work and the remaining engineering, and closely monitor construction quality and related progress, making every effort to ensure that each project meets relevant safety requirements with the original completion date as the goal. Under the supervision of the Buildings Department, the contractor has begun to implement a series of remedial measures at full speed since early November last year, including relocating and reinstalling the involved modules, and will bear all related costs arising from the remedial measures.

Additionally, from the perspective of the engineering contract, the Buildings Department has required the contractor to carry out a series of remedial measures and bear all related costs arising from the remedial measures. If the remedial measures lead to delays in the contract completion date, the contractor must bear the damages for delay. Furthermore, the Buildings Department has also requested the contractor to replace all on-site personnel responsible for engineering supervision, including their site agents, engineering supervisors, and on-site structural engineers. At the same time, the Buildings Department has also requested the project management consultant to replace all on-site supervisors. The Buildings Department has also immediately strengthened the government site supervision personnel to be on the front line full-time to directly supervise the site and arranged for the department's structural engineers to conduct additional surprise inspections and audits on-site to ensure strict quality control of the projects.

Preliminary evidence indicates that the security may have committed serious negligence or misconduct in construction engineering, and the Buildings Department will notify the Buildings Authority to refer the case to the Registered Contractors Disciplinary Committee for handling according to Section 13 of the Buildings Ordinance. According to the relevant regulations, if it is determined after inquiry that there has been negligence or misconduct in construction engineering, the committee may order the removal of the name or names of the security or its directors, senior personnel, or individuals from the relevant list, or impose fines or reprimands on the security or its directors, senior personnel, or individuals Due to the discovery during the investigation that the incident may involve criminal behavior related to providing false statements, the Construction Authority has reported it to the police. The government will continue to follow up seriously and will strengthen the supervision of the relevant areas to ensure that the overall quality, safety, and progress of the project are not affected