Hong Kong authorities to inspect 7 sites, suspend work on CK Asset project with missing rebar

Hong Kong authorities will inspect seven other developments by a contractor after a residential project of property giant CK Asset Holdings was found to have installed fewer rebar than required. The Buildings Department demanded a suspension of work on CK Asset’s starter home project in Kwun Tong pending a safety review, while the company said it would look into construction problems on the Anderson Road development. The property giant issued assurances on Friday that the affected block in the project was generally safe, after authorities revealed the contractor had installed fewer rebar on six beams than indicated in approved building plans. Rebar are steel rods with ridges used to reinforce concrete. Local media earlier reported that one block in the project was missing several steel rebar amid construction that had started before proper inspections by an authorised person. Responding to the reports, the Buildings Department confirmed it had received complaints in August that the rebar of some structures on the site had not been installed according to standards under the Buildings Ordinance. It said it had deployed staff to inspect the site four times since early September and that construction had been suspended on September 28. Authorities discovered that the number of rebar on six beams on the 29th floor of the third block of the project did not match the building’s approved plans, but said the “overall structure did not have any obvious danger”. The department ordered the project’s registered structural engineer to submit a detailed investigation report on its actions to correct the problem. It also demanded that the site be examined to ensure that other parts of the project did not contain similar lapses. A CK Asset spokeswoman said the company had tasked a consulting team to “look into the building plan situation and to take appropriate measures. We will ensure building safety as we have done so before”. “The bar bending and rebar work of the relevant building are still in progress,” she added. “It is not completed yet. The construction site’s structural engineer has not conducted their relevant tests yet.” Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Friday it was too early to start assigning blame as the Buildings Department needed to investigate first “So right now, we cannot conclude too early that this incident was caused by a certain person or organisation’s mistake, or jump several steps forward from there to say that we would suspend whoever’s qualification to bid for tenders. We are not at this stage yet,” she said. She emphasised that Hong Kong had a relatively comprehensive regulatory system to ensure the quality of homes and their construction, and the department’s investigation was part of that framework. Under building regulations, a developer must hire an authorised person to inspect construction plans to ensure they are safe and approved by authorities before work can begin. The department said it would only allow resumption of work after the project’s structural engineer submitted a satisfactory investigation and corrective engineering report, with suggestions for strengthened site supervision. Veteran structural engineer Ngai Hok-yan said the problem would likely affect the structural capacity of the building, but there was not enough information to determine the extent of the consequences. “If the designed capacity of the building is just enough, where they did not give it spare capacity, then having less metal would mean that its capacity would be weaker and it would not be enough unless the engineer factored in extra capacity when they were designing the beam,” he said. “If they did, having less steel bars would still be fine.” Ngai said he doubted the contractor was simply trying to cut costs, rather human error was likely at play, with materials either being misplaced or steel bars being used in the wrong places. But such problems should not happen as contractors should follow building plans exactly, as they did not know what would happen to the structures if they were missing the required number of steel bars. Authorities were currently investigating the situation and would consider appropriate enforcement actions after it had received the structural engineer’s report. The department also said it would inspect seven other private developments by the same contractor to examine those projects’ construction quality and site safety. CK Asset’s starter home project on Anderson Road in Kowloon East is Hong Kong’s first plot of land earmarked for a mixture of private and government-subsidised homes developed by private builders. It is expected to produce at least 1,000 subsidised homes priced at 80 per cent of market value for first-time homebuyers, along with about 700 private residences. The property giant won the bid in 2020, paying HK$4.95 billion (US$638.8 million) for the land premium.

Hong Kong authorities to inspect 7 sites, suspend work on CK Asset project with missing rebar

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Contractor of Kwun Tong residential project installed fewer steel bars on one floor than indicated in approved plans, Buildings Department says

Contractor of Kwun Tong residential project installed fewer steel bars on one floor than indicated in approved plans, Buildings Department says