Tendering process on hold for four Hong Kong housing estates amid lead-in-water crisis
Contractors bidding on construction also involved in lead contamination scare
The tendering process for four new public housing projects, involving 6,132 households, will be postponed for a month due to the ongoing lead-in-water crisis, the Housing Authority's tender committee said yesterday.
Director of Housing Stanley Ying Yiu-hong said some of the four main contractors involved in the contamination scandal, in which elevated levels of lead have been discovered in at least 10 public housing estates, were also bidders on the housing projects.
The tender committee, led by Cheung Tat-tong, decided to wait for three pieces of information before choosing the bidder.
Those are the test results of water samples from all public housing estates built after 2005; a report by a team of water supply experts; and reports by the four main contractors.
The contractors - China State Construction Engineering (HK), Yau Lee Construction Company, Paul Y Engineering Group and Shui On Building Contractors - are all expected to complete their reports next month.
The postponed tendering decision is expected to push back the completion of the second phase of Shek Mun Estate, a public housing project, and three Home Ownership Scheme developments by one month.