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The Buildings Department today (February 1) began a territory-wide inspection of about 4,000 buildings aged 50 or above. The department will inspect and determine whether the structure of these buildings is safe.
A Buildings Department spokesman said 40 teams, each comprising one professional officer (a building surveyor or structural engineer) and one technical officer, would carry out the inspection with an aim of completing the operation by the end of February.
"We have always attached great importance to building safety. In view of the recent incident at Ma Tau Wai Road, in which a building collapsed, the department has set up the special teams by redeployment for the inspection. We will do our best to complete the inspection as soon as possible," the spokesman said, "Our building surveyors and structural engineers are competent professionals, having both the professional qualifications and ample experience in building inspection to determine whether or not the structure of a building is safe. We will not forfeit the quality of our work for the sake of saving time."
Regarding the latest situation of 45J Ma Tau Wai Road, the spokesman said that workers had to erect steel metal frames at the site as shoring to stabilise the building at 45H. However, since the building at 45H had been severely damaged, there would be risks when installing those steel frame shorings. For the safety of residents in the adjoining buildings, the Buildings Department decided to temporarily close the buildings at 45E and 45F, a shop at the ground floor and 1/F of the building at 49 Ma Tau Wai Road, as well as a flat each on 2/F to 5/F of the same building. The closure would last until the works of stabilising 45H had completed.
The spokesman said the structure of these buildings was safe. The closure was a precautionary measure and temporary. For the safety of residents of the buildings concerned, they should better not stay in the buildings while the stabilisation works were in progress.
"Department staff have been closely monitoring the condition of the adjacent buildings since we began our stabilisation works at the site of 45J. We will continue our close monitoring during the course of the stabilisation works. The closure of of 45E, 45F and some units of 49 Ma Tau Wai Road is only a precaution," the spokesman stressed.
The spokesman anticipated that the stabilisation works would complete in 10 days to two weeks' time. During the affected period, the Home Affairs Department had opened Henry G Leong Yau Ma Tei Community Centre with daily necessities for residents affected by the arrangements to take shelter.
The spokesman also reminded building owners that they should assume full responsibility to maintain and mange their own private properties and common parts of their buildings jointly. They should make sure that their own private properties and common parts are safe and in good condition.
Effective building management should include frequent patrol and surveillance of the common parts of buildings such as staircases, lobbies, roof top, private access roads or lanes and most importantly, the areas that were not frequently used such as staircases leading to back lanes and other inconspicuous areas.
Regular inspection is necessary to reveal early symptoms of deterioration of the building structure and fabric, service components and facilities, allowing more lead time to plan and carry out rectifications. Timely maintenance and repair not only ensure building safety, prevent disastrous consequences but also can reduce the repair costs in the long run.
Ends/Monday, February 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 15:20
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