Call to minimise fallout from builder's projects ban
A lawmaker says the government had "no choice" but to pull the plug on a major contractor in charge of several public construction projects, saying work-site safety must come first when renewing the registration of firms.Lo Wai-kwok, who represents the engineering sector, also said he hopes authorities would do their best to ensure that existing subcontractors and staff can stay on when projects being handled by the major contractor are passed on to new firms.Lo made the call following an announcement by Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Thursday that Aggressive Construction will be removed from the government's list of approved general building contractors from June 20.The firm was involved in multiple construction incidents between 2020 and 2023, resulting in five deaths.Speaking on RTHK's Hong Kong Today programme on Friday, Lo explained why it took the government years to make up its mind."The time taken seems to be quite long, but we have to understand that to deal with such an application is indeed not an easy task," he said."The Buildings Department and the Contractor Registration Committee had to verify all the data submitted and analyse the incidents and the track record of the company, their submission."And they have to interview the authorised signatories and the project directors involved...So these really take time and it's not an easy decision."Aggressive Construction has been given one month to wrap up its work.Lo said the firm is in charge of six public projects, including four housing estates."This, unfortunately, will cause delays for these projects, but I think we've got no choice," he said.To speed up the transition, the lawmaker expects the government to directly engage "trustworthy" contractors, instead of inviting interested firms to lodge tenders.
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