More Hong Kong MTR subsidence problems as pipes found bent at Exhibition Centre station site
Water Supplies Department said “angular distortion” had been found in pipes around the Exhibition Centre station site a day after the rail giant was forced to suspend all excavation work at the stop on the beleaguered Sha Tin-Central Link
More subsidence problems have been discovered at the site of a new station on Hong Kong’s most expensive rail project, as lawmakers considered invoking special powers to conduct a thorough probe into the construction scandal.
The Water Supplies Department said “angular distortion” had been found in pipes around the Exhibition Centre station site a day after the rail giant was forced to suspend all excavation work at the stop on the beleaguered Sha Tin-Central Link.
Engineers said the pipes would have been bent by soil movements at the Wan Chai construction site.
The government said there had been no cracks in, or leakage from, the pipes. It added the distortion did not go beyond an alarming level and that it would monitor the subsidence data submitted by the MTR.
The discovery capped off a bad week for the rail operator. On Tuesday, officials said they had lost faith in those in charge of the project, calling for heads to roll. Four senior managers of the project resigned while CEO Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen would step down earlier than expected.
