Explainer | Why Hong Kong uses bamboo scaffolding in construction and the potential risks
- Authorities have started a two-week citywide inspection of construction sites after two workers died in scaffolding collapse incident at Kai Tak site
- The Post dives into the city’s use of bamboo scaffolding, its potential risks, and what can be done to prevent further accidents
Hong Kong is reviewing its construction safety practices following a bamboo scaffolding collapse incident at a 30-storey building in Kai Tak that caused two deaths on Tuesday, with the Labour Department carrying out a two-week citywide inspection of sites.
Experts and concern groups have raised doubts about the structure’s design, with some calling for such traditional bamboo scaffolding to be banned outright.
The Post dives into the city’s use of bamboo scaffolding, its potential risks, and what can be done to prevent further accidents of this nature.
1. Why bamboo and is it safe?
While bamboo was widely used for construction throughout Chinese history, Hong Kong remains one of the few places left in the world that continues to use it for scaffolding.
Compared with steel, bamboo is much lighter, easier to erect and dismantle, and only a fraction of the cost, according to practitioners. But others have argued that bamboo is antiquated and should be phased out for safer and modern materials.
Fay Siu Sin-man, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, suggested that metal scaffolding in general was safer than the bamboo type.
“Metal is more stable and less easily compromised or moved,” she said, adding that bamboo might sometimes sustain undetectable wear and tear which could lead to breakage.