Hong Kong’s leader orders full review of monitoring system for mega bridge after late documents scandal
- Carrie Lam doubles down on authorities’ reassurances that Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is safe
- The chief executive says she has requested her transport chief to explain the matter clearly to the public once findings come in
Hong Kong’s leader has ordered a thorough review of the monitoring system for the newly opened mega bridge and gave her reassurance the world’s longest sea crossing is safe after controversy surfaced over missing inspection papers.
On Tuesday morning, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she had instructed transport officials, including Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan and Highways Department chief Jimmy Chan Pai-ming, to assess construction checks and determine if there was room for improvement.
Two days ago, China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong), which was tasked with building an HK$8.88 billion (US$1.13 billion) connecting road to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, was found to have failed to submit more than 10,000 safety documents on time.
Lawmakers on Tuesday questioned whether the problem was limited only to some cases or endemic in the industry.
The late papers accounted for 28 per cent of Request for Inspection and Survey Checks (RISC) forms to be handed over to Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong, the engineering consultant on the project.
Some of the paperwork was provided to the firm only two years after work had been completed.
