***********************************************

The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:

The Investigation Panel on Accountability set up under the Housing Authority (HA) in the case of the uneven foundation settlement at Tin Chung Court, Tin Shui Wai, has completed its report and submitted it to the Authority (HA).

The report, endorsed by the Authority's Building Committee (BC) today (March 16), contains comprehensive recommendations on areas of responsibilities and ways to improve the work procedures.

"Findings and recommendations of the Panel will assist us to prevent the recurrence of similar problems in other projects of the Authority," a spokesman for the Authority said.

The recommendations came after months of detailed investigation by the five-member Panel, chaired by HA Member Mr Philip Nunn. The Panel has conducted a series of meetings and interviews and reviewed a large amount of documentation during the probe.

On responsibilities, the Panel recommended that disciplinary action be considered against the project's piling contractor, the contract manager and its geotechnical consultant for unsatisfactory performance.

It also recommended that legal action be taken against the piling contractor for its failure to adequately design and construct the foundation works, and against the contract manager for its failure to properly supervise the design and construction of the foundation works.

The Panel identified a number of failings on the part of both the Authority and the Housing Department. While of the view that these were system failures, the Panel recommended that the Director of Housing to review the performance of individual officers concerned and to consider disciplinary actions as necessary.

As to improvements in procedures, the Panel recommended the Authority to strengthen control to ensure its developments meet the requirements of the Building Authority, or alternatively brings its developments under the control of the latter.

Review should be carried out on the appointment and monitoring system for consultants and sub-consultants. The performance of consultants should be monitored not only in terms of cost and time, but also on technical and quality aspects, while sub-consultants should be appointed through a fair and transparent tender system.

In the report, the Panel also recommended that all piling projects should have a qualified and experienced Resident Engineer on site throughout the construction phase to supervise works, while specifications for piling works should be reviewed as a matter of priority by an independent consultant.

Another recommendation was that Precast Prestressed Concrete (PCC) piles should not be used except in exceptional circumstances and if used, should be under stringent requirements.

The spokesman said the report will be submitted to the Chief Executive. "The Housing Department would follow up the recommendations of the Panel and report to the Building Committee on progress of actions," he said.

Joining Mr Nunn in the investigation were fellow HA Members Mr. Wan Man-yee and Mr. Michael Choi, a BC Member Professor Patrick Lau, and Dr. Cheng Hon-kwan, an engineer not related to HA. The Panel was set up last September after uneven ground settlement was found at five of the six blocks in Phase One of Tin Chung Court.

End/Thursday, March 16, 2000

NNNN