Poor Construction Management at HKU Criticized
Poon’s post openly criticized the poor construction management of HKU’s campus development project, not only referring to the recent crane incident but also describing the concrete construction quality of the project as outrageous.He questioned how HKU, a world-class institution with an architecture and engineering department, could have “such weak” construction management of workmanship. He urged HKU’s top administration to find out the truth and investigate whether there was any cover-up or dereliction of duty by the engineering management team.
Poon also stated that it was learned that the consulting firm has been very dissatisfied with the construction quality and has repeatedly sent letters to the contractor and reported to the HKU management team. Still, nothing has been done to improve the situation. He mentioned that a column on lower ground three and a beam on level two appeared substandard and required a detailed inspection to determine if demolition and reconstruction were necessary. He suggested that the Development Bureau and Buildings Department should intervene to assess the quality of the building.
On June 26, Poon responded to the Epoch Times, stating that the honeycomb voids resulting from mistakes during concrete pouring had nothing to do with the quality of the precast concrete. He emphasized that it was solely a matter of construction supervision and techniques.
Poon said that under normal circumstances, when this problem occurs, loose concrete can be chiseled away and repaired on the solid concrete surface using a method traditionally known as “honeycomb repair.” However, the column and beam situation seems severe, with many holes requiring a detailed inspection to determine if demolition is necessary.
No improvement was seen after three months. Poon believes the reason is that HKU, as the project owner, has not taken a strong stance. He said that a detailed inspection is required to determine whether demolition and reconstruction is the only option and whether the issue affects the entire building or only one part.
HKU President Zhang Xiang Stresses Serious Follow-up
A spokesperson for the University of Hong Kong responded to the media, stating that they are taking the matter seriously and are conducting a thorough follow-up with the contractor. The site in question is part of HKU’s “High West Campus Redevelopment” project, which aims to provide two dormitory buildings with approximately 1,300 student and staff units and is expected to be completed next year.After attending a public event, HKU President Zhang Xiang acknowledged the problem and said that the university would follow up on the incident with all seriousness. They are communicating with the contractor and the government, and HKU experts have been on-site to understand the situation. He emphasized that the university values building safety and related standards highly but cannot provide further details at this stage, promising to provide updates and details as soon as possible.
HKU Council Undergraduate Representative Chik Yau-hong expressed concerns about the ongoing engineering issues at HKU, stating that the situation is worrying. He has also written to HKU’s Director of Estates, Sy Wai-yin, requesting a serious follow-up by the university.
Previously, an incident occurred at the HKU campus development project when a crane allegedly tilted due to an imbalance. At the time, an HKU spokesperson expressed great concern and requested a report from the contractor. The experienced architectural team WilkinsonEyre and engineering consultants Palmer & Turner Group handle the current campus development project.
The Epoch Times contacted the contractor’s parent company Great Harvest Group, located in San Po Kong, for a response. A staff member responded by saying that the incident was under investigation and that he had no way of contacting their staff on the construction site before he hung up the phone.
Contractor Has Had a Series of Accidents in the Last Two Years
The contractor responsible for the honeycomb column incident at the University of Hong Kong’s (HKU) construction site has recently been involved in several severe accidents. These include a crane incident in Kowloon in September 2022, which resulted in three deaths and six injuries. Another accident occurred at a private residential construction site at Yau Tong, where an iron I-beam crushed a worker in December. A young man died from an electric shock on the Wang Chin Street construction site in Kowloon Bay in July 2020.According to records from the Labour Department’s “Occupational Safety and Health Conviction Records,” a journalist from “Photon Media” found that affiliated companies of Aggresive Construction have 21 violation records, making it one of the most convicted construction contractors in the past two years.
The four affiliated companies under Aggresive Construction, namely Aggressive Construction Engineering Limited, Aggressive Construction Company Limited, Aggressive Civil & Foundation Engineering Limited, and Aggressive Engineering Limited, have a combined total of 21 violation records, with fines ranging from HK$2,000 to HK$30,000 per case.
These companies are all subsidiaries of the Great Harvest Group. According to the investigation by the media, the group’s official website displayed Poon Yung as the chairman in February 2020, but the information was later removed. It was revealed that Poon Yung was also present when the Housing Department Director Winnie Ho Wing-yin visited the Group-built Tai Po Area (Fu Tip Estate) public housing project in July 2022. The current webpage of the Group no longer displays the chairman’s identity.
The four affiliated companies of Aggresive Construction have been involved in three accidents that resulted in five fatalities. Apart from the Anderson Road incident in September 2022, there was also an incident in December of the same year when an iron I-beam collapsed at a private residential site on Tung Yuen Street, Yau Tong, resulting in the death of an ironworker. In July 2020, a fatal work injury occurred at the Wang Chin Street Post Office project in Kowloon Bay, where a 24-year-old man died from an electric shock while moving a welding machine.
Furthermore, media analysis revealed that the main contractor, “Aggressive Construction,” has won over HK$17 billion worth of government and Housing Authority projects in the past three years. Despite facing 17 charges brought by the Labour Department for fatal accidents, with a potential maximum fine of HK$500,000 per charge, the maximum fine of HK$8.5 million accounts for only 0.0005 percent of the project fees. Labor groups criticized the lack of deterrence imposed by such penalties on contractors.
The Hong Kong Housing Department inspected the site on June 26 and issued a statement in the evening. They acknowledged that some reinforced concrete components on the project’s lower ground, first, second, and third floors of the staff quarters needed to be properly constructed. However, they said that there were not any apparent structural risks.
According to the statement, the registered contractor has already done repair work on the components with more minor and less severe defects, including removing the problematic parts and repairing the concrete. As for the components with more significant defects, the registered contractor has submitted a repair plan to the registered structural engineer. They will proceed with the repairs under the structural engineer’s supervision after receiving the engineer’s report.
