Architectural Services Dept: unacceptable that contractor delays reports of flawed assembly work

發佈日期: 2025-10-07 20:45

TVB News

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Manufacturing defects at three light public housing projects have come to light.

Some screws used for securing the Modular Integrated Construction units to the concrete wall were cut short.

Today, the Architectural Services Department says it's unacceptable that the contractor did not report the incident to authorities right away when they discovered the flawed assembly work.

At the centre of controversy is contractor Able and Chun Wo Joint Venture, which manages all three light public housing projects under scrutiny in Siu Lam, Chai Wan and Tuen Mun.

It's revealed that about 6 percent of the 4,000 screws in the three projects were cut short or "severed" -- some are key to securing the Modular Integrated Construction or MiC units to the reinforcing concrete core wall.

2,000 of the connecting holes on iron plates were also enlarged without authorisation.

The Director of Architectural Services Michael Li says the government is reviewing remedial plans submitted by the contractor.

He admits that in order to investigate the cause of the incident, it's possible the MiC units have to be dismantled. 

Speaking on a radio programme, Li says the screws being cut are connected to the middle, core concrete structures linked to the elevators and the stairs.

He notes that it also involves structural boxes "that have to be taken apart" before the screws can be inspected.

The worst case scenario, he says, is to dismantle all the boxes -- and have them reinstalled after examination.

Li says while it's not surprising to have slight deviations of a few millimetres, the problem here is that only after the issue came to light did the contractor reach out to the authorities.

And such delays, he says, are unacceptable and the government should investigate the motives behind.

Lawmaker Scott Leung says it is necessary to step up inspections to ensure structural safety of all light public housing projects.

The light public housing projects involved were scheduled to be completed around the second quarter of next year in phases.

Leung says the progress was faster than originally planned, so it's unlikely the manufacturing defects will affect the timeline much.