City still has 1,400 dilapidated buildings a year after collapse

It was a year ago today: a 53-year-old tenement building shook. Then it cracked and fell amid deafening noise and a plume of dust, crumbling into a pile of rubble.

Four people died and two were injured in the shocking January 29, 2010, collapse of a five-storey, 53-year-old apartment house in To Kwa Wan. Dozens of people in neighbouring buildings thought to be at risk were forced to find new homes. And though the tragedy riveted the city and prompted plenty of concerned talk about building safety in Hong Kong, a government survey shows that 1,400 buildings that are at least 30 years old remain today in 'dilapidated conditions'.

The Urban Renewal Authority, which completed the survey last month, did not specify how run-down the buildings are or where they are located. It said that releasing information about specific buildings could hurt their property value.

A spokesman took pains, however, to say: 'No building is found to be in immediate danger so far.'

Despite the high number of ageing buildings with clear defects, remedies are still in the talking stage. The URA is planning a forum in April to figure out urban-renewal strategies. Lawmakers are debating a basket of new measures, including a law that would compel owners of older structures to get regular professional building inspections.

The new survey of dilapidated buildings follows up an earlier one, done by the URA shortly after the tenement collapse of a year ago. That investigation found that about 2,000 buildings in Hong Kong were a 'potential danger'. The phrase was not defined.

'We will not release the full results of the report,' a top URA official said late last year. 'Releasing such information would have a serious impact on the value of the properties concerned and this would not be fair to the owners.