MTR forced to stop work at Exhibition Centre station on beleaguered Sha Tin-Central Link after more reports of subsidence
Rail operator halts excavation to ease public concerns over multiple cases of subsidence around Wan Chai site
Hong Kong’s troubled rail operator has been forced to suspend all excavation work at a new station for its scandal-plagued Sha Tin-Central Link due to areas around the construction site sinking beyond acceptable levels.
The MTR Corporation was ordered by the government on Friday to immediately stop digging because of subsidence recorded at multiple monitoring points around the future Exhibition Centre station in Wan Chai, the second stop on the line to be hit by such problems.
“To ease public concerns and under the principle of safety first, we think it is more appropriate to suspend all excavation work at the station,” MTR Corp managing director Jacob Kam Chak-pui said.
Kam insisted this did not mean there was any danger. Rather, it was aimed at easing public concerns as well as giving the railway giant time to review and verify all the relevant data, while making sure nearby facilities were safe, he said.
But he would not confirm media reports citing internal company documents that unacceptable levels of subsidence had been recorded in 14 areas around the Wan Chai site.