Hong Kong should be very concerned about the recent flurry of cases involving misbehaviour in the construction industry. It would be too easy to write them off as isolated incidents when they could just as easily be straw in the wind, indicating a serious underlying malaise. One high-profile case is the Anderson Road quarry redevelopment…
A homeowner in Redhill Peninsula has been fined HK$150,000 (US$19,230) after pleading guilty to carrying out unauthorised building works, marking the 12th conviction following Hong Kong authorities’ crackdown on illegal construction. The owner of a detached home in the private housing estate on Hong Kong Island admitted at Eastern Court on Friday that he knowingly…
Another homeowner in Redhill Peninsula has been found guilty of carrying out unauthorised building works and fined HK$150,000 (US$19,230), marking the 12th conviction after Hong Kong authorities’ crackdown on illegal construction. The owner of a detached home in the private housing estate on Hong Kong Island pleaded guilty at Eastern Court on Friday to knowingly…
Hong Kong has long celebrated its status as a “culinary paradise” – a city where East meets West across steaming bamboo baskets and sizzling skillets. Yet behind the Michelin stars and street food fame, the city’s food and drink industry is quietly unravelling. Soaring rents, a deepening labour shortage, fractured supply chains and a vanishing…
Hong Kong has long celebrated its status as a “culinary paradise” – a city where East meets West across steaming bamboo baskets and sizzling skillets. Yet behind the Michelin stars and street food fame, the city’s food and drink industry is quietly unravelling. Soaring rents, a deepening labour shortage, fractured supply chains and a vanishing…
Hong Kong building authorities have initiated 205 prosecutions against six people and two companies over alleged subpar steel reinforcement work at a CK Asset Holdings residential project after the city’s anti-corruption agency earlier uncovered suspected bribery in exchange for lax supervision. The Buildings Department said on Friday that it had received a report last August…
Hong Kong’s rail giant the MTR Corporation has suspended foundation works for the overhead cable at its Oyster Bay station project on Lantau Island due to signs of “upheaving”. The government said on Thursday that movement was recorded at the site two days earlier, prompting staff from the Buildings Department and the Electrical and Mechanical…
Hong Kong authorities should appeal against the “light” penalties imposed on two property owners for erecting illegal structures at their luxury Redhill Peninsula homes, experts have said, warning that the fines are not hefty enough to deter offenders. The specialists weighed in after the two property owners were told to pay more than HK$110,000 (US$14,015)…
Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority will examine whether legislation should be introduced requiring landlords to create periodic maintenance plans for their blocks and ensure sufficient funds for the work. The study would also cover the possibility of creating a new statutory body to supervise building restoration and maintenance, according to the authority’s retiring head, Wai…
Hong Kong industry leaders have called on new contractors to rehire workers and subcontractors from a local construction company that will lose its operating licence, to minimise delays in building 7,100 public homes. One construction sector leader also warned against a loophole that permits companies to re-register simply by changing the authorised person. Chau Sze-kit,…