1 China Railway (SEHK: 0390) Construction’s share sale to bring in 8 or 9 corner-stone investors
HK Economic Journal, Feb 13, 2008

China Railway Construction Corp, the nation’s sixth-largest construction contractor, would set aside at most 20 per cent of shares in its upcoming Hong Kong share sale for 8 or 9 cornerstone investors, among whom were well-known tycoons and sovereign funds, according to sources.

2 New technique makes work on sewers safer
SCMP, Feb 13, 2008

A new technique introduced by the Drainage Services Department greatly reduces the risk to workers involved in the construction of sewage tunnels deep underground.

Known as directional coring, the technique allows the department's experts to identify with greater accuracy geological hazards such as faults, weak zones and groundwater at a depth of 160 metres - the depth of the tunnels - before work begins.

It was applied for the first time in the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme Stage 2A, an HK$8 billion project to clean up water along the western shores of Victoria Harbour.

The process involves drilling a pipe-like tunnel about 5cm to 7.5cm in diameter down to bedrock and then parallel to the proposed sewage tunnel for about 1km. Data about the ground features is collected and risks, such as groundwater inflow, can be predicted before construction starts.

"It greatly increases the extent of tunnel sections that can be investigated. Some faults and weak zones can be detected before construction begins," chief engineer Chui Wing-wah said.

The technique, however, is much more costly than the conventional borehole method, Mr Chui said. Drilling costs about HK$9,000 per metre with directional coring, while the conventional method costs about HK$3,000 a metre.

Conventional ground investigation is conducted by drilling boreholes vertically down to the tunnel level to collect rock samples.

"In many cases, we have difficulties in finding suitable investigation sites [with the conventional method], particularly at urban areas and on navigation channels.

"But the new technique allows us to conduct our works underground with minimal impact on road traffic and the environment," Mr Chui said.

The technique has been used for five sections of the sewage tunnel, all of which are to be completed by mid-year. The miniature tunnels - 5km in total - cost HK$47 million.

3 Three scaffolding deaths prompt call to workers on safety steps
Agnes Lam, SCMP. Feb 13, 2008

Building maintenance workers operating at heights outdoors should pay more attention to safety, the Labour Department said after a year in which it recorded three fatal falls from scaffolding.

The department has not issued final figures for accidents in the last quarter of last year, but figures for the first nine months of the year show six people were killed doing decorating and maintenance work and nine others killed on building sites in that period.

Department deputy chief occupational safety officer Ng Lung-hoi said people hired for short-term building maintenance tasks tended to have low safety awareness.

"These projects may last for only a few days, so contractors and workers pay less attention to safety," he said, adding that most work of this kind involved repairing external water leaks or replacing windows.

"We have, therefore, allocated more manpower to check on these smaller projects to see if workers have followed safety guidelines when working on scaffolding.

About 60 per cent of our resources are devoted to conducting inspections of these decoration and maintenance projects, compared with 20 per cent in the past," he said.

The Labour Department and the Buildings Department said they conducted snap inspections of work on 18 flats in Tsuen Wan, Sai Wan Ho, Southern District, Kwun Tong, Sha Tin and Mong Kok on November 15 and 16. The Labour Department issued 19 suspension notices to contractors and subcontractors, and the Buildings Department issued 15 warning letters to property owners.

More than 800 summonses were issued last year for failure to implement statutory safety measures on construction sites and decoration projects. Some involved failing to observe safety measures while working on scaffolding.

Mr Ng reminded employers, property owners, tenants, shop operators and property management companies to instruct contractors to provide safe facilities for workers.

"They should not think that it is the workers' or the contractors' responsibility only," he said. "If anything goes wrong, they might all be held responsible and have to face legal charges."

4 Blue House redevelopment campaign
Olga Wong, SCMP, Feb 13, 2008

The government is seeking expressions of interest from non-profit organisations to revitalise the Blue House cluster in Wan Chai. It includes 72-74A Stone Nullah Lane (Blue House), 2-8 Hing Wan Street (Yellow House), 8 King Sing Street (Orange House), and a block of vacant government land. The government will pay for renovations and provide HK$5 million for operating costs. Details are at www.heritage.gov.hk/en/rhbtp/bhc.htm.