Hong Kong Buildings Department orders 30 private building projects to temporarily suspend work.

According to the press release from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, the spokesperson for the Buildings Department of Hong Kong stated on November 29th that orders have been issued under the Building Ordinance requiring 28 private building projects where Hung Yip Construction Engineering Limited is the registered contractor to immediately suspend work. At the same time, the department also ordered two other projects using plastic foam board in private building maintenance to cease work temporarily. The Buildings Department has also immediately requested the registered contractors of these two projects to remove the plastic boards and will seek legal advice on legal consequences. The contractors responsible for the 30 projects mentioned must conduct an independent safety audit for the project construction, submit improvement plans to the Buildings Department, and complete the implementation of improvement measures to demonstrate that the projects can proceed safely before the department decides on whether and when to allow the projects to resume. The decision to temporarily suspend work on the 28 projects managed by Hung Yip is based on the department's lack of confidence in Hung Yip's ability to guarantee site safety. The five-level fire at Hung Fuk Yuen in Tai Po revealed serious deficiencies in Hung Yip's site safety management, including the extensive use of foam board to seal windows during building repairs.