Standing the test of Mother Nature
The defining professional services offered by leading Hong Kong firms have increasingly played a role in key Belt and Road projects, including those located in challenging environments.
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FRUIT DESIGN AND BUILD LTD – NATIONAL ARMED POLICE FORCE ACADEMY PROJECT, NEPAL
The National Armed Police Force (APF) Academy project, 20km southwest of the city of Kathmandu, involves site formation, road works and construction work for more than ten buildings with a gross floor area of 15,353m2 on a site spanning 16.8 hectares. The agreement on this China-aided construction project was signed between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Nepal in June 2013.
Hong Kong consultancy Fruit Design & Build Ltd (FDB) was appointed by the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China as engineering consultant for the project. Its main duties include the monitoring of domestic equipment and materials, approval/monitoring of constructor’s organisation, approval of the commencement of works, quality management, approval of mid-term and final acceptance of works, safety production management, and approval of funding and design variation.
Before work began, FDB sent a resident site staff team to Nepal to closely monitor the progress and quality of site work including the delivery of construction materials, worker recruitment, the provision of accommodation and the set-up of a site office. Construction began on April 16, 2015 and is expected to be completed in 25 months.
On April 25, 2015, a powerful earthquake measuring 7.8M on the Moment Magnitude Scale struck the area. Its epicentre was the village of Barpak, 150km northwest of the construction site. After the earthquake, all structures on the site remained stable. This was specially highlighted by National People’s Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhang Dejiang in his speech at the Belt and Road Summit in May 2016 as an example of the superior quality of Hong Kong’s professional services, and proof that such services have a big role to play in Belt and Road development.
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