Hong Kong’s leader has pledged to overhaul the city’s building maintenance regime and improve emergency response as part of the government’s response to last year’s fatal Tai Po fire, while authorities study criminalising bid-rigging and plan to submit a proposal later this year. The measures were outlined in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address…
A group of construction workers have staged a demonstration at an upscale residential estate undergoing renovation in Hong Kong to demand that the contractor involved in the deadly Tai Po fire settle their unpaid wages, with two climbing up the erected scaffolding as part of the protest. About 15 workers on Wednesday held banners and…
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. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho shared the possible policy direction on Wednesday, after experts noted earlier this month…
New measures to strengthen Hong Kong’s building maintenance regime after the deadly Tai Po fire only scratch the surface of long-standing issues that require deeper systemic reforms and tougher laws, according to experts and industry figures. The damning verdict came after the government’s pledges and proposals on Wednesday to close policy gaps and tackle entrenched…
Hong Kong’s newly elected lawmakers, many of them fresh faces on the political scene, held their first meeting on Wednesday, with officials pledging to address policy gaps exposed by the deadly Tai Po inferno, from tightening oversight of maintenance project tenders and raising homeowner voting thresholds to imposing a smoking ban at construction sites. Wednesday…
One month after the Wang Fuk Court fire, Hong Kong’s construction industry grapples with a scaffold net safety regime halting repairs on over 200 buildings. In the third part of a series, Edith Lin and Vivian Au report on calls for certified suppliers, expedited testing and a broader accountability overhaul. Here’s part one and two….
Hong Kong’s development chief has vowed to tighten building safety laws to punish those exploiting loopholes, warning that authorities will show no leniency towards the construction sector that has come under public scrutiny after the deadly Tai Po fire. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Saturday that the government would take over…
Shortcomings in Hong Kong’s building regulations could complicate efforts to prove manslaughter in the Tai Po housing estate blaze that killed 159 people, according to legal and construction experts. Police have arrested 21 people so far, including 15 for alleged manslaughter, after authorities found flammable foam panels and nets that were not flame-retardant on the…