Hung Hom station at risk of cracking due to being overloaded, says government-appointed expert
- The report by Francis Au of HKU contradicts the findings of an official commission of inquiry, which stated there were no structural flaws at the station
- Au’s report was not taken into consideration by the commission because it was only submitted after its interim report was handed over
A government-appointed expert has warned of structural problems at the Hung Hom station platform of the Sha Tin-Central link, contradicting the findings of an official commission of inquiry that investigated allegations of shoddy construction at Hong Kong’s most expensive railway project.
Professor Francis Au, head of the department of civil engineering at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) found that about eight connecting joints at the scandal-hit Hung Hom station platform would be overutilised, leaving the joints at risk of cracking, the Post has learned.
Au’s report, however, was not taken into consideration by the commission of inquiry into shoddy work on the HK$97.1 billion (US$12.3 billion) Sha Tin-Central link. The expert report was only submitted to the commission after it handed over its interim report to the government at the end of February.
Contrary to Au’s findings, the commission concluded in its interim report that the construction works for the Hung Hom platform and diaphragm walls were safe. But according to Au’s review of the internal stresses of 25 construction joints of the structure, a copy of which the Post has obtained, eight joints were found to be overutilised – or their allowable strength overloaded – by up to 136 per cent.
The HKU academic, appointed by the government to give his independent expert opinion to the commission, carried out the calculations in a lab based on the data provided by the project consultant Atkins.