Builder pledges three-year no-leak warranty
Hsin Chong Construction will provide a three-year no-leakage warranty for all new design-and-build contracts to boost its share of the sector.
The company will guarantee no leaks in windows, external walls, roofs, pipes and the like for contracts in which it controls the design, specification, selection of materials and construction procedures.
The standard warranty period is one year.
Director Cheung Siu-lun said the company had carried out eight design-and-build contracts since the mid-1980s and had a HK$2.3 billion contract for the construction of government quarters.
Mr Cheung said changes to construction methods resulting from the extended warranty would increase costs by a maximum of 5 per cent and much less in most cases.
Chairman Geoffrey Yeh Meou-tsen said that unlike overseas countries, design-and-build contracts were not popular in Hong Kong's private sector, reflecting a weaker awareness of building quality.
Mr Yeh expected the concept to gain acceptance in future and that the Housing Authority might consider such projects.
In design-and-build contracts, builders cannot blame the design for any defects, he said.
Hsin Chong (Foundations), an arm of Hsin Chong Construction group, was disqualified from Housing Authority contracts for three years in 1999 for its part in a substandard-piling scandal.
The group recorded a HK$23.43 million net loss for the six months to September 30 last year, compared with a HK$15.55 million profit in the same period in 1999.
