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Following is a question by the Hon Tien Pei-chun, James and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (December 15):

Question:

On October 26 this year, a concrete slab for holding an air conditioner cracked and fell down from the external wall of a flat in Kwong Ming Court, a Home Ownership Scheme estate in Tseung Kwan O completed only seven years ago. Staff of the Housing Department subsequently inspected other flats of the Court and found that similar concrete slabs on the external walls of 12 flats needed repairing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the causes of the cracking of the concrete slab;

(b) of the current number of public housing flats with similar concrete slabs, and the follow-up actions the authorities have taken in respect of these flats;

(c) whether the Housing Department deploys staff to inspect the execution of outsourced repair works on a regular basis;

(d) how the Housing Department monitors the quality of public housing construction works; and

(e) given that building construction works of the Hong Kong Housing Authority are not subject to the regulation of the Buildings Department under the existing legislation, whether it will consider amending the relevant legislation to bring such works into the regulatory purview of the Buildings Department?

Reply:

Madam President,

My reply to the five-part question is as follows:

(a) The Housing Department's preliminary investigation into the collapse of an air-conditioner hood in Kwong Ying House of Kwong Ming Court (Tseung Kwan O) indicated that the collapse was not associated with the hood's design, but might be caused by problems in the process of its construction. The Housing Department will need to conduct a detailed investigation on site to verify the actual cause and is liaising with the Incorporated Owners of Kwong Ming Court on the arrangements.

(b) There are 78 Harmony-type public housing blocks with about 10,000 flats which adopt the same air-conditioner hood design as that in Kwong Ying House of Kwong Ming Court.

Following the incident, the Housing Department immediately liaised with the flat owners concerned on repair arrangements. The contractor was also asked to inspect the air-conditioner hoods in Kwong Ming Court and other public housing blocks using the same design constructed by this contractor between 1996 and 2000. About 2600 flats will be inspected. The contractor has arranged repair works for 11 flats with signs of minor concrete spalling.

(c) Designated Housing Department staff patrol public rental housing estates every month and carry out random inspection to monitor the quality of works conducted by maintenance contractors. In addition, upon receipt of complaints or reports on maintenance problems, the contractors concerned will be asked to take follow-up actions expeditiously. In the case of unsatisfactory performance, sanctions will be taken according to contract provisions, including warnings, downward adjustment of performance appraisal scores to reduce the contractor's chance for contract renewal and future tenders, or even termination of contracts.

(d) Under the contract, we require contractors to provide full time supervision to ensure compliance with the quality standards stipulated in the contract. In terms of supervision exercised by the Housing Department, we deploy site supervisors to inspect all construction sites and to assist architects and engineers in monitoring contractors' performance and quality of work against contract requirements. We have also deployed resident engineers to some of our projects.

Since the Quality Housing Reform in 2000, we have strengthened site supervisory resources for all projects in terms of both number of staff and expertise, and we have deployed resident engineers to all piling sites. We have also clearly defined the duties of all site staff. We have further aligned our supervisory practice with the "Quality Supervision Plan" promulgated by the Buildings Department which included the requirement for a technically competent supervision team with clear delegation of power and responsibilities. Besides, we have streamlined the inspection procedure and allowed more flexibility for project teams in their documentation work. We have reinforced the risk awareness among staff through training and strengthened monitoring to enable earlier identification of potential problems that may arise on site. We have also intensified the induction and refresher training for site staff and enhanced their professional skills to ensure that they possess adequate skills and experience to effectively monitor the work of contractors.

(e) The Government is now examining ways to bring public housing construction and maintenance works within the ambit of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123). A number of options on the application of the Ordinance to public housing projects and the legal, administrative, staff and resource implications arising are being considered. In the interim, the Independent Checking Unit was established in the Housing Department in November 2000 to conduct third-party building control over public housing projects. The approval, consent and supervision mechanism being applied to new public housing projects are consistent with Buildings Department's practices to ensure compliance with the technical and safety standards of the Buildings Ordinance. The Independent Checking Unit is also extending the building controls to the stock of existing public housing in accordance with the standards and procedures adopted by the Buildings Department.

Ends/Wednesday, December 15, 2004

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