Hong Kong’s planned renovation body may be liable for poor oversight: minister
Building Maintenance Support and Services Council to recommend qualified professionals, contractors as part of reforms to curb renovation malpractice
Hong Kong’s planned renovation monitoring body could be held liable for poor oversight when recommending and keeping tabs on consultants and contractors, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho has warned, as officials detailed broader reforms to curb malpractice during major building repairs.
Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun on Friday also gave assurances that a new department overseeing major renovation projects would adopt a fresh approach and provide training, despite being staffed by personnel from the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) – the agency with the biggest responsibility for the city’s deadliest fire in Tai Po.
The officials’ remarks followed a second public apology from the ministers implicated in the inferno, with authorities vowing to have enforcement agencies sit in “high-risk” owners committee meetings and criminalise bid-rigging by next April.
