Hong Kong Secretary for Security, John Tang, and Secretary for Development, Ning Hanhao, met with reporters on the evening of December 3.
Ning Hanhao announced that all buildings currently undergoing major repairs must dismantle their scaffolding within 3 days. The Buildings Department will require all scaffolding materials to be sampled on-site when delivered to the construction site. Only after passing designated tests and being deemed qualified can the scaffolding be reinstalled.
She estimated that there are around two hundred buildings undergoing major repairs with scaffolding, including public housing or government buildings accounting for more than ten cases.
John Tang mentioned that the police are investigating two cases involving the Feng Wah Estate in Chai Wan and the Fuzhou Garden in Fortress Hill. The scaffolding in these two estates claimed to be produced by “Shandong Chenxu Chemical Fiber Net Co., Ltd.” and allegedly obtained fire-retardant qualification reports from the “National Labor Protection Supplies Quality Supervision and Inspection Center” or the “Binzhou Inspection and Testing Center”. However, investigations showed that the “National Labor Protection Supplies Quality Supervision and Inspection Center” did not issue any relevant certificates. The “Binzhou Inspection and Testing Center” was temporarily unavailable, with all contact methods provided by the company being non-operational.
The government has officially filed a case, and it has been handed over to the Serious Crime Unit of the Hong Kong Island Region for further investigation. John Tang anticipates that more similar cases will be investigated, mentioning that relevant departments in mainland China will cooperate with the Hong Kong government’s investigation.
Ning Hanhao announced that all buildings currently undergoing major repairs, including public, private, and government buildings, that have scaffolding on their outer walls must immediately dismantle the scaffolding.
Moreover, relevant departments responsible for inspecting these projects will immediately contact the contractors and instruct them to complete the dismantling within the next 3 working days, which is by this Saturday or earlier.
In cases where individual contractors cannot meet the deadline, Ning Hanhao stated that they must notify the relevant review department in advance for assessment of any reasonable justifications for leniency.
Ning Hanhao stated that the Buildings Department will strive to issue new operational guidelines next week, requiring all scaffolding materials to be sampled on-site when delivered to the construction site. After passing designated tests and being confirmed as qualified, only then can the scaffolding be reinstalled. She added that the department has begun discussions with the industry on detailed guidelines.
Ning Hanhao stressed that the use of non-compliant scaffolding does not mean a “get-out-of-jail-free card”. She mentioned that the Buildings Department, Housing Department’s independent review committee, and the Buildings Department have been collecting scaffolding samples from over three hundred buildings undergoing large-scale maintenance projects. These samples are currently being sent to designated laboratories for testing, with the government committed to holding accountable any scaffolding that does not meet the standards.