Pressure grows on contractor for scandal-hit Sha Tin-Central rail link as Hong Kong government checks seven other projects

The main contractor at the centre of a series of construction scandals plaguing Hong Kong’s most expensive rail project has been given a week to submit a report addressing safety concerns, while coming under expanded scrutiny over other projects it is handling for the government.

The city’s No 2 official, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said on Monday that the government had sent a letter to Leighton Contractors (Asia) demanding an explanation for problems at the Hung Hom station of the Sha Tin-Central rail link where steel reinforcement bars were cut short to fake proper installation on new platforms.

“If the bureau is dissatisfied or finds Leighton to be problematic, it can take regulatory actions, including barring Leighton from bidding in government construction project tenders for a period of time, and even removing its licence,” Cheung said, setting next Tuesday as the deadline for a satisfactory reply.

Speaking at a public event on Monday, Secretary for Development Michael Wong Wai-lun said four government departments had been checking work done by Leighton.

“So far, we have not seen any structural or quality problems,” Wong said.