Highways Department waited two years before taking action on late safety documents for Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
- Authorities told about the matter as early as 2016, new report reveals
- Nearly 15,000 inspection forms not submitted on time, more than 10,000 initially stated
Hong Kong’s Highways Department knew as early as 2016 about overdue safety documents from a contractor working on a cross-border mega bridge but did not pursue the matter until two years later, it was revealed on Thursday.
The latest report submitted by the department and the Transport and Housing Bureau to the Legislative Council also revealed that the number of late inspection forms involved in the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge totalled nearly 15,000, more than the 10,000 first reported on Sunday, when the scandal broke.
The department said, however, that the incident involved only delayed submission of the documents and not any missing papers or construction quality issues, as an independent auditor it appointed last year confirmed that most of the work concerned had been conducted under supervision.
Lawmakers, who are set to grill officials on the scandal at a meeting on Friday morning, accused the department of trying to cover up the matter and called for the hiring of an independent consultant to double check the safety of the world’s longest sea crossing.
It was revealed on Sunday that China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong), which was tasked with building an HK$8.88 billion (US$1.13 billion) connecting road to the bridge, waited two years before providing thousands of Request for Inspection and Survey Checks (RISC) forms in 2018 to Ove Arup & Partners Hong Kong, the engineering consultant for the project.