My TakeCorruption in bids for building renovation can no longer be denied
This practice – exposed by the Competition Commission – has been going on for far too long; it’s about time the government got its head out of the sand
Many people who have lived in Hong Kong for a while have heard horror stories about estate renovation works. Many might even have experienced them on their own estates. These last for months, sometimes years, and cost flat owners tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention the health hazards of being exposed to construction materials and chemicals in your own home over an extended period.
Allegations of corruption and bribery are common. A new study by the Competition Commission has at last confirmed what everyone has long suspected: bid rigging and manipulation are, if not widespread, at least not infrequent in the residential renovation and maintenance market.
The commission went over 700 tender records from 500 maintenance projects provided by the Urban Renewal Authority and the Housing Society and found patterns consistent with bid rigging and manipulation.
The works were all subsidised by the government under the HK$3.5 billion Operation Building Bright (OBB) scheme. Introduced in 2009, the scheme targets buildings that are at least 30 years old.
The scheme has been a gold mine for bid rigging, though the government has taken an ostrich approach. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has insisted there was no problem with the OBB scheme.