Hong Kong authorities may expand background checks on authorised persons in construction projects to cover company directors, the development chief has said, as the government moves to plug policy loopholes exposed by the Tai Po inferno.
Among the proposed measures is a new requirement for service providers to undergo vetting by police and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
Authorities have yet to reveal specific details on the vetting process, although it will involve authorised persons’ disciplinary records being screened, including for any criminal history, in order for their company to qualify for government projects.
Linn said there was significant feedback regarding the proposal to expand the vetting process beyond “authorised persons”.
“Can we also expand [the scope], and consider checking the track record of directors or subcontractors as well?” she said on a radio programme on Wednesday.
Under the current mechanism, government scrutiny is mostly limited to the track record of the authorised person in charge of a project, who could be a registered surveyor or architect.
