MTR Corporation to dig up platforms at Hung Hom station to get to bottom of shoddy work allegations plaguing Hong Kong’s Sha Tin-Central rail link
- Total of 80 spots set to be dug up
- Investigation to cover both upper and lower slabs of the newly built platforms
Hong Kong’s most expensive railway project is facing more uncertainty and scrutiny, with the operator undertaking to break open 80 sections of two newly built platforms at Hung Hom station to get to the bottom of a scandal over shoddy work allegations.
The government announced on Wednesday that it had accepted the MTR Corporation’s revised “holistic assessment strategy” for assessing the structural integrity of the platform slabs and diaphragm walls at the expanded station for the HK$97.1 billion (US$12.4 billion) Sha Tin-Central link.
The operator had initially proposed to work on the platform serving the east-west corridor of the line between Tai Wai and Hung Hom, but was forced by the government to expand the inspection to the platform serving the north-south corridor between Hung Hom and Admiralty.
“We’ve considered that it is a scientific way to identify the problems and the scale of the problems, and the way to resolve the issues,” Director of Highways Jimmy Chan Pai-ming said, explaining the rationale for using random sampling to pick the sections slated for dismantling.
“We think that with this approach, we can assure the public that all the structures constructed by the MTR, with all the verification completed, can ensure public safety, and that the structures will comply with the required standards.”