The provisional administrator of the housing estate ravaged by Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades will attend hearings of the independent committee “as necessary” to represent the “common interests” of the owners’ corporation, the city’s home affairs chief has said amid criticisms that displaced residents lack legal representation in the probe. Secretary for Home and…
Some residents of Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court have urged an independent committee investigating Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades to identify and hold those responsible to account, as the judge leading the inquiry vows a fair and thorough probe. The committee’s first hearing began at 10am on Thursday with a minute of silence to…
Survivors of Hong Kong’s deadly Tai Po blaze have condemned what they called “insensitive and bureaucratic” arrangements for a government subsidy, with some saying they were blindsided by demands to provide proof of legal heirship in the wake of the blaze that tore through the estate and killed 168 people last year. The outcry over…
Hong Kong authorities will extend the deadline for mandatory building inspection orders to let homeowners vet contractors’ conviction records on a new platform launching later this year, the city’s development chief said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Saturday that the prequalification list on the Urban Renewal Authority’s (URA) electronic platform, currently…
Hong Kong authorities may remove building maintenance contractors from a government-recommended list if homeowners are dissatisfied with their performance, as part of measures to combat bid-rigging following the deadly Tai Po fire, the city’s No 2 official has said. Chief Secretary Eric Chan Kwok‑ki said on Saturday that the government aimed to improve the Urban…
Extra costs and the use of public resources may be incurred under the Hong Kong government’s proposed moves to increase professional scrutiny of building maintenance projects following the deadly Tai Po inferno, a lawmaker has said, calling for further discussion. Election Committee lawmaker Andrew Lam Siu-lo, a town planner by training, said on Thursday that…
Hong Kong’s beleaguered Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has raised HK$8 billion (US$1.02 billion) by selling bonds to finance capital expenditure and new projects. The cash-strapped authority on Wednesday said it sold two tranches of bonds, one worth HK$5 billion with a five-year term and the other for HK$3 billion with a 10-year term. The coupon…
Hong Kong police have arrested nine employees of a company suspected of using surveying equipment with 45 forged certificates in five hospital expansion projects and one construction site. The force said on Thursday that it had detained six men and three women, aged 23 to 48, from acoustic and environmental services consultancy Novox for allegedly…
Hong Kong police have arrested three people linked to a company suspected of using surveying equipment with forged certificates in at least two redevelopment projects and a public hospital expansion, the Post has learned. The arrests, involving acoustic and environmental services consultant Novox, were made on Tuesday. The Urban Renewal Authority (URA) told the Post…
Hong Kong’s deadliest fire in decades has been put out, but the sight of the charred remains of Wang Fuk Court’s housing blocks still conjures up painful emotions and all too vivid memories for many people in the surrounding neighbourhood. The fire started on Wednesday last week, raging for 43 hours and engulfing seven of…