Editorial | Hong Kong must tackle the long-standing lapses that led to Tai Po fire
The deep-rooted problems in building management, including bid-rigging, inflated costs and slack supervision, must be resolved once and for all
That it has taken the loss of 168 lives to fuel a long-overdue revamp is to be regretted. The government has rightly pushed ahead with a series of proposed changes, along with a government-appointed independent review that will soon look into the causes of the blaze and issues relevant to the city’s worst high-rise building fire.
Corruption in building maintenance projects is nothing new. But the severity of its consequence – after seven of the eight blocks in Wang Fuk Court were devastated by fire while under renovation – renewed public attention on the matter. It was found that some samples of the scaffold nets covering the buildings had failed fire-retardant tests and that flammable foam panels were used to seal flat windows, raising concerns about supervision of the project. Subsequent probes into the extent of bid-rigging revealed that some consultant firms hired by homeowners for maintenance projects had colluded with contractors, allowing bids to be won at unusually low prices.
Among the proposals by the authorities is an expanded role for the Urban Renewal Authority in private building maintenance projects, with service providers being subject to criminal and disciplinary record checks under a centralised platform. Contractors and consultants are required to report changes leading to increased costs.
Also under consideration is a higher threshold for homeowners to be physically present in meetings to vote on major maintenance projects, up from the current 5 per cent to 10 per cent or more, depending on the project costs. The proxy vote arrangement may also be tightened.