Noise barrier project on Hong Kong highway enjoys conflict-free completion, earning nod from British engineers’ organisation
- The project, which involved the installation of an 800-metre noise barrier in Tuen Mun, saw no disputes between the city and contractors
- Transport chief credits the use of a new contract model with the lack of conflicts, something that is ‘not easy in the case of public works’
The installation of a noise barrier on the Tuen Mun Highway was completed without compensation disputes and has won an international award for adopting a new engineering contract model, the city’s transport chief has said.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan wrote in an official blog post that no disputes were raised between the Highways Department and engineering teams over the four-year project, which involved nearly 300 compensation items.
“Under the ‘new engineering contract’ (NEC) model, the Works Branch and engineering teams worked with a spirit of mutual trust, and by responding to changes caused by risks, that is, compensation items mentioned in the engineering contract, to prevent disputes,” Chan said.
Chan added that 48 risk mitigation meetings were held to discuss problems that were identified using the NEC model. Some 85 per cent of compensation items were implemented within three months, and the rest were processed before completion of the project.
“[This] enabled the project to be successfully finished within the approved budget, and there were no project disputes at all,” Chan said, “That was not easy in the case of public works.”