1 Land to be reclaimed for bridge crossing 100 hectares needed for Lantau checkpoint
Cheung Chi-fai, SCMP, 11 July 2007

The government is planning to reclaim up to 100 hectares off northern Lantau for the construction of a control point for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, which green groups fear could cause irreversible environmental damage.

The amount of land required - 2-1/2 times the size of the West Kowloon cultural district - would make it the largest reclamation project since Penny's Bay was reclaimed for Disneyland in 2000.

Environmentalists say the marine ecology - from endangered Chinese white dolphin to rare horseshoe crab habitats - might be affected and the remaining untouched coastline on north Lantau would be spoiled.

Sources close to the government said it had initially been estimated that 90 to 100 hectares would be needed to accommodate the immigration and customs facilities - similar in size to those at the new Deep Bay border crossing - as the bridge would bring heavy traffic, particularly freight, across the border.

While officials had no definitive plans for where to put the control point, they admitted there were few options, the sources said.

Because of the shortage of flat land along the northern Lantau coast there seemed little choice other than reclamation. The sources said one option was to build the control point on a piece of land at the entrance of the Tai Ho Valley, part of which has been designated a site of special scientific interest for its freshwater stream ecology. Another option was the sea off Sha Lo Wan.

It remained unknown how the new facilities would fit in with the logistics park or Container Terminal 10, which are also proposed for the northern or western Lantau shore.

The sources said transport officials had recently "restarted" stakeholder consultations about the 35km bridge spanning the Pearl River mouth, hoping to gauge public sentiment about reclamation options.

The reclamation became necessary after Hong Kong and the mainland last year ruled out building joint immigration facilities for the three jurisdictions on reclaimed land near Macau. Instead, each would be responsible for building the facilities in their own territory.

"It seems to be a very big area indeed, and doubtless a far more costly option than the single facility at Deep Bay. It will be very difficult to shoe-horn this [facility] in without causing yet more environmental damage," Green Lantau Association spokesman Clive Noffke said.

Instead, Mr Noffke proposed building an island east of the airport, saying this would avoid taking up coastal land, help move the bridge away from Tung Chung and enable a direct connection to the proposed Chek Lap Kok-Tuen Mun link.

A Transport and Housing Bureau spokeswoman would not comment on the size of the control point or the reclamation it would require, saying it was being studied as part of the feasibility study for the bridge. A detailed proposal for the location and arrangement of the facilities would be drawn up in due course.

2 Site inspections across HK after crane deaths
Clifford Lo, Agnes Lam and Zoe Mak, SCMP, 11 July 2007


Firemen rescue and injured worker while another man remains trapped in the mangled wreckage. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

An inspection of construction sites is under way after a tower crane collapsed in Causeway Bay yesterday, killing two workers and injuring five.

Six workers were trying to lower the height of the crane when it collapsed at the site of the former Mitsukoshi store in Hennessy Road.

The crane buckled near the ninth-floor rooftop of the site, sending the operational box and horizontal arm crashing to the top of the building.

It took firemen more than eight hours to free the body of one of the dead workers, while a survivor was trapped in the mangled wreckage for almost four hours.

An investigation began once the rescue operation was completed, but already last night fingers were pointing at possible human error or faulty equipment.

A crane expert said a failing hydraulic system was the likely cause. Leung Ping-fai, chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Professional Plant Operators and Mechanics Association, said the system appeared to have failed to maintain balance, leaving the crane tipping to one side and causing the column to snap.

The Labour and Welfare Bureau said the main contractor - China Overseas Building Construction - must bear responsibility if the investigation showed it had failed to provide a safe environment for workers.

Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, secretary for labour and welfare, said: "Whether it involves errors in the construction work or human negligence, we will need a thorough investigation.

"I will direct the commissioner of labour to launch a city-wide inspection of all similar sites to see if safety protocol has been followed."

One worker, Lee Kong-chai, 42, suffered a broken leg when he fell from a platform in the basement when the building shook from the impact.

Speaking at Ruttonjee Hospital, he said: "I tried to hold onto a railing for support but then I heard a second loud noise. The sound was so great that I lost my grip on the railing."

It was the second fatal accident at the site. A worker was killed by an excavator in April.

The two dead workers were identified as Tam Cheung-tai, 49, who was crushed between a partly demolished wall and part of the crane, and Tam Shing, 51, who was trapped within the crane's metal girders.

Wong Tak-mon, 45, suffered leg injuries after tripping on the rooftop. He was discharged after treatment.

Lai Yuen-ching, 48, was initially trapped in the collapsed crane but managed to climb out and was rescued by firemen at about 11am. He was in serious condition.

Leung Ah-po, 55, was freed by firemen at about noon and was in serious condition.

Chan Kin-wah, 36, the last survivor to be pulled clear at about 1.30pm, was in stable condition.

 

3 Crane rules under fire as too weak
Anita Lam and Zoe Mak, SCMP, 11 July 2007


Lack of precautionary measures and negligence were cited as possible causes for the collapse of a crane in Causeway Bay yesterday that killed two people and injured five.
The Labour and Welfare Bureau said the main contractor, China Overseas Building Construction Ltd, would be held responsible if it had failed to provide a safe working environment on the demolition site.

But unionists said the government also shared the blame as current legislation did not require a mandatory risk assessment before high-risk work like removal of crane parts was conducted.

The crane at the site of the former Mitsukoshi department store was being lowered when it collapsed.

Construction Industry Employees General Union chairman Choi Chun-wah said he suspected the accident was caused by incorrect working procedures.

"Lowering a crane is a highly risky job that requires professional know-how and stringent monitoring procedures," he said. "Workers had complained to the main contractor about some problems with the crane. Did the company do anything about it?"

Construction Industry Professional Plant-Operators Mechanics' Association chairman Leung Ping-fai said inexperienced workers and insufficient risk assessment could cause deaths. "Workers must first obtain a training certificate and I know of fewer than 300 in Hong Kong who are qualified for the job."

The Labour Department confirmed that workers must be licensed to do the job, but said it was unknown if those working on the collapsed crane were.

It said it had required the main contractor to carry out a risk assessment before starting the job.

Mr Leung, a former senior lecturer with the Construction Industry Training Authority on operation of heavy machines such as cranes, said there were at least three procedures a contractor should follow for such a job.

It should first conduct a risk assessment, then it must obtain a report from a qualified surveyor mapping out procedures for erecting or removing the crane, and lastly a chartered engineer must monitor the whole process on site.

Site owner Hysan Development said there were protocols to follow but did not say what they were.

The head of corporate communications for the developer, Mark Tung, said its engineers visited the site every day for safety checks, while a more thorough safety inspection was carried out weekly.

Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said the main contractor must provide a safe working environment and professional engineers must be present for high-risk jobs on cranes.

But the Construction Site Workers General Union said the government should have done more to prevent the accident. "Crane accidents are disastrous but right now there is no law mandating a risk assessment for the job," said the union's organising secretary, Ng Koon-kwan.

The Labour Department said the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance specified safety requirements for the operation of heavy machines, including cranes. Violators of the regulations face a jail term of up to 12 months and a fine of HK$200,000.

But Mr Ng said penalising the company only after an accident was not an effective means of avoiding loss of life. "Nothing can be done to rectify the mistakes when it involves loss of lives."

4 Qingdao the new target for HK developers
Peggy Sito, SCMP, 11 July 2007

Qingdao , a coastal city in Shandong province, has emerged as a new target for Hong Kong developers as they increasingly shift their attention towards second-tier cities given the surging land prices and lack of urban sites in first-tier cities.

Hutchison Whampoa, Kerry Properties, Hong Kong Construction and Shui On Group had already built up a presence in the city, said Joe Zou, general manager of property adviser DTZ's Qingdao office. They first entered the city in 2005, two years after property prices began picking up, Mr Zou said.

Compared with other cities, Qingdao has yet to find great popularity with Hong Kong developers. However, he expected more foreign players to target the city after looking at its growing economy.

Qingdao and other cities near the Bohai Sea aim to develop the region as the mainland's third-biggest economic powerhouse, after the Pearl and Yangtze river deltas.

The region also consists of Beijing, Tianjin in Hebei province and Dalian in Liaoning province.

The gross domestic product of Qingdao, a municipality that covers seven districts with 2.5 million people, grew 15 per cent last year. Property prices have been rising since 2003, with average home prices of 4,225 yuan per square metre last year, up 17.23 per cent from 2005.

But prices of luxury flats with sea views were being sold at more than 30,000 yuan per square metre, Mr Zou said. Most of the buyers were from nearby cities, he said.