In recent years, construction problems have been frequently exposed in Hong Kong. A luxury mansion with a price tag exceeding 100 million Hong Kong dollars was suspected of being involved in a substandard construction project. After the issue was exposed by online media, the Hong Kong government confirmed that the independent house had serious discrepancies in steel reinforcement configuration and blueprint requirements, causing a public outcry. The contractor responsible for the project is a Chinese company.
According to a recent report from the Hong Kong media outlet “Hu Shuo Lou Shi,” the luxury project “ONE STANLEY” located at 128 Wong Ma Kok Road in Stanley was found to have a discrepancy in the main steel reinforcement quantities compared to the approved blueprints.
In April 2024, a homeowner spent over 100 million Hong Kong dollars to purchase a four-bedroom house with a usable area of over 3,000 square feet in the project, and completed the handover in August of the same year. In August 2025, when workers demolished the wooden floor of the master bedroom on the second floor and the elevator entrance marble, they discovered peeling in the lower part of the floor slab and loose concrete surfaces, leading to a halt in construction. The management office and the developer, Henderson Land Development, were notified. However, the developer denied any construction issues and blamed the homeowner’s renovation for damaging the floor.
An analysis by a registered structural engineer appointed by the unit owner revealed that the main steel reinforcement quantities in some areas were significantly reduced by 41% to 75% from the original approval by the Buildings Department, and there were serious deviations in the spacing of the steel bars.
Subsequently, the homeowner commissioned a lawyer to request the developer to cancel the contract. The developer suggested a private settlement, offering to repair the floor and other parts for the homeowner but requiring them to give up any further pursuit and to keep the incident confidential. The developer also sent a lawyer’s letter to “Hu Shuo Lou Shi,” demanding that the incident not be made public. The homeowner rejected the developer’s proposal and reported the incident to the Buildings Department in January of this year.
On October 4th, the Buildings Department of the Hong Kong government issued a statement, indicating that they had been following up after receiving the homeowner’s report and had conducted an investigation. After an onsite inspection, it was found that the protective layer of a lower-level beam was not configured with wire mesh as per the blueprint and that the steel reinforcement in some floor slabs did not match the blueprint. The relevant parties involved in the project were requested to attend a meeting and undergo investigation.
Looking into the “ONE STANLEY” project, it consists of a total of 84 units, including 32 independent houses and 11 four-story residential buildings. Henderson Land Development, owned by the Hong Kong textile magnate Lo’s family, is the developer. The main contractor is the China State Construction Engineering Corporation’s subsidiary, Hai Yue Construction, with a background of Chinese investment.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation (referred to as China State) is a central enterprise of the Chinese Communist Party, and Hai Yue Construction is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Limited.
The suspicion of substandard construction in a luxury independent house has attracted attention. Ho Kui Yip, President of the Hong Kong Institute of Building Safety, mentioned that the construction skills of workers vary, emphasizing the need for professionals to supervise the site. He believes that this incident may involve negligence in supervision, with the contractor bearing the greatest responsibility.
Hong Kong scholar Chung Kin Wah commented on “Chasing the Light” that in recent years, Hong Kong has seen major engineering errors and building safety hazards. From the exposure of the “ONE STANLEY” project in Stanley with steel reinforcement quantities 41% to 75% less than approved blueprints and even “zero concrete cover,” to non-compliant concrete in the Tung Chung public housing site, these are not just individual engineering flaws but have revealed a systemic failure in Hong Kong’s engineering construction and regulatory system. At the core of these issues lies the serious corruption and inefficiency of the regulatory system.