Hong Kong to bar firms with integrity offences from building renovation lists

Hong Kong building maintenance consultants and contractors prosecuted or convicted of integrity-related offences in the past three years will be excluded from pre-qualified lists set up for owners undertaking renovation projects, the development minister has said.Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Tuesday that applications to join the lists – covering inspection consultants, supervision consultants and building works contractors – would open next Wednesday and close on October 23. The lists would be set up by the end of the year, she added.Linn told the Legislative Council’s development panel that the lists would be reviewed every two years, as authorities tightened oversight of integrity standards.“If they are convicted of integrity-related offences, they will be removed from the pre-qualified lists immediately,” Linn said.Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn speaks during a press conference on initiatives under Hong Kong’s first five-year-plan and the policy address. Photo: Silvia SiuThe pre-qualified lists are part of the measures proposed in last Wednesday’s policy address to step up support for private owners conducting building maintenance work.The initiative follows a fire during renovation work at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last November, which killed 168 people and displaced about 5,000. Subsequent media reports revealed that the current lists failed to screen out companies with criminal records.The new lists will replace the current ones.Only consultants and contractors on the pre-qualified lists will be eligible to bid for building renovation projects under the support service.