Hong Kong government looking at ways to make city’s lifts safer, including move to combat potential bid rigging in maintenance process
Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting suggests current system forces building owners to use underperforming contractors
An electronic tendering system for lift maintenance could be set up to stamp out the possibility of bid rigging in the industry after two serious accidents in Hong Kong in little more than a month.
Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun on Tuesday revealed the government’s plan to bring the Urban Renewal Authority into the fold to play a “more significant” role in helping owners of old buildings to find good lift maintenance contractors.
A woman in her 60s died after she was dragged up then dropped to the bottom of a lift shaft at Paris Court in Sheung Shui on May 10, while a couple were seriously injured in Waterside Plaza in Tsuen Wan when the lift they were in kept going up until it crashed into the top of the 46-storey building in April 8.
At a Legislative Council development panel meeting on Tuesday, Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting said many property owners “had no choice but to stick with underperforming contractors”.
“Many housing estates have told us, when tendering for lift maintenance contractors, they often received few bidding documents,” Lam said.
In some cases, new bidders offer much higher prices than the existing service provider, leaving property owners no choice but to renew contracts, he said.
Both Lam and Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong legislator Vincent Cheng Wing-shun questioned whether the government had a plan against bid rigging.
Wong disclosed that the government has approached the Urban Renewal Authority, a self-financing body specialised in redevelopment, about setting up an electronic tendering system for lift maintenance services.