Latest news with #Housing Authority
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Aggressive Construction loses 3 public housing contracts to new firm
Hong Kong's housing authorities have awarded contracts for the building of three public estates originally under Aggressive Construction Company, a firm linked to five workplace deaths in recent years, to a new contractor. Advertisement China Overseas Building Construction was announced as the replacement on Thursday after Aggressive was removed from the government's registered list of contractors in May due to safety violations, including a 2022 crane collapse that killed three workers. The Housing Authority, the city's largest public housing builder, subsequently terminated the three housing contracts originally managed by Aggressive. The three affected projects are the underground link of the Pak Tin Estate redevelopment phase 10, the development of about 1,000 public housing flats at Tuen Mun Area 29 West, and about 5,200 homes at Tung Chung Area 100. 'The remaining works will be taken up by China Overseas Building Construction Limited,' the Housing Authority said on Thursday, adding the decision was approved by its building committee and tender committee. Advertisement In addition to the collapse of a crane tower, Aggressive was also linked to a fatal industrial accident in 2020 at a Kowloon Bay construction site, where a worker was electrocuted.
South China Morning Post
21-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong balances public housing targets with cost-saving measures amid review
Hong Kong authorities are actively seeking ways to reduce the construction costs of public housing, including a review of foundation designs and the postponement of projects facing significant technical challenges, the city's housing minister has revealed. Advertisement Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin assured in an exclusive interview with the Post that the project review would not jeopardise the overall target of supplying 308,000 public flats in the next decade, as any reduction in homes from postponed projects will be offset by an increase from other developments. 'For each of the projects [with more technical challenges] postponed, I must ask my colleagues whether there is something that can be fast-tracked. We cannot postpone everything, or we will lose the target,' she said. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to cut the waiting time for a public rental home from the current 5.3 years to 4.5 years by 2026-27, prioritising improvements to the city's standard of living. Given the financial difficulties faced by the city's largest public housing provider, the Housing Authority, coupled with the administration's substantial financial deficit and a subdued property market, authorities are now intensifying efforts to lower public housing construction costs. Advertisement Last month, the government postponed an 8,300-flat public housing estate in Fanling, New Territories. Instead, it prioritised other 'more cost-effective' projects in and around the area, which are expected to yield 38,000 homes.
