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for. 1.
Greens in U-turn on rail link 2.
Collapse kills three, two missing 3.
Damaged piling could be to blame for tragedy: experts 4.
Airport to expand to fill needs 5.
Four people reported missing in building collapse case 6.
Downturn dumps landfilling charge 7.
One dead, four missing as building collapses 8.
KCRC claims urban rights 9.
Weight of debris may have caused fatal collapse
1. Greens in U-turn on rail link
Environmentalists who bitterly opposed a plan to build a rail viaduct through
a bird haven in Long Valley now say they will support the proposal if the KCRC
buys the area for conservation. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC)
replaced its $8 billion viaduct proposal last month with plans for a $10 billion,
4.3km tunnel after the Environmental Protection Department and an appeal board
rejected the viaduct over the Long Valley wetland, home to 210 bird species. Legal
costs for the 25-day appeal hearing are estimated at up to $70 million. The tunnel
proposal will leave the bird haven untouched. However, green groups now fear it
might be more damaging than originally thought. Under a counter-proposal by the
Conservancy Association, the KCRC could go ahead with its original proposal and
spend part of the $2 billion savings to set up a fund administered by the Agriculture,
Fisheries and Conservation Department. The money would be used to buy and manage
the 36 hectares of wetland and possibly other ecologically sensitive areas, such
as Sha Lo Tung in Tai Po. Hung Wing-tat, director of the Conservancy Association,
described the idea as a win-win proposal as it would allow the KCRC to complete
the project faster, while allowing permanent conservation at Long Valley. The
project is expected to be finished by 2007, two years later than originally scheduled,
meaning more congestion at Lowu. The KCRC has begun working on an environmental
impact assessment of the tunnel. Mr Hung said green groups were sceptical about
the tunnel option and were worried about underground water loss from the wetland.
"Whichever technology the KCRC uses, once you move away the earth, there is bound
to be underground water loss, especially in Long Valley, where the geological
condition is soft." The KCRC also did not regard the tunnel option as entirely
environmentally friendly as it would produce two million tonnes of excavated material
and consume double the amount of power for ventilation. The KCRC declined to comment
on the counter-proposal but stressed the time factor was its main concern. "There
will be great uncertainty if we have to complete additional studies about a rail
viaduct as required by the appeal board. It might take two years more and still
the result might be uncertain," said a spokesman. The Transport Bureau reiterated
that the Government had endorsed the tunnel option and the KCRC would bear the
additional costs. Karen Woo Lai-yan, conservation officer of the World Wide Fund
for Nature Hong Kong said the idea was worth considering. "They chose the tunnel
option so as to avoid political uncertainty and they failed to ask whether it
was the most cost-effective option," she said. [Source:
SCMP, 29 October 2001] 2.
Collapse kills three, two missing
Rescuers were searching desperately early today for two men missing in the ruins
of a building that collapsed, killing three workers and injuring nine people -
two of them critically. Passing pedestrians fled the shower of rubble and scaffolding
as the six-storey industrial building, under demolition in Yau Tong, collapsed
inwards at about 11.12am, blanketing the surrounding area in a cloud of thick
dust. Some of the 13 workers in the building were hurled from the fifth and sixth
floors. A 43-year-old construction worker, surnamed Siu, was pulled out by firefighters
from the debris within minutes of the collapse. But he was certified dead on arrival
at United Christian Hospital from head injuries. Two others, unidentified early
today, were found dead late last night. A 45-year-old worker, surnamed Yuen, and
a 35-year-old, surnamed Nguyen, were in a critical condition. Two others - one
of whom needed brain surgery - were in a serious condition and two were in a stable
condition. Three people with minor injuries, including a passer-by whose toes
were struck by falling rubble, were treated and discharged. The wreckage of the
Hoi Pan Industrial Building at 19 Sze Shan Street remained unstable last night,
raising fears for the safety of rescue workers who toiled under floodlights with
life detectors in the hunt for the missing workers. Demolition of the 30-year-old
structure, which formerly housed dyeing and electronics factories, began on Saturday.
Director of Buildings Leung Chin-man said it had complied with all requirements,
and all precautionary measures had been taken. He said such a collapse, coming
just two days after the start of demolition, was rare. A bulldozer working on
one of the upper floors plunged to the ground amid piles of broken concrete as
the structure disintegrated. A worker at a nearby building, giving his name only
as Mr Chan, said he suddenly heard a loud bang, then saw the structure collapse.
Li Tam-kwai, a security guard at another building, said he saw several workers
on the sixth floor plummet to the ground. "A big cloud of dust surrounded
the area,'' Mr Li said. "Some of the debris was thrown far from the building.
''Demolition contractor Chong Tai could not be reached for comment on the collapse
or compensation for victims' families. Fire Service Kowloon East Senior Divisional
Officer Lee Tin-ping said officers were worried about the safety of rescue workers.
"There are difficulties in searching for the remaining victims as other parts
of the building may collapse at any time,'' he said. "We have to ensure that
the rescue operation is conducted safely.'' Firefighters used two trucks with
ladder platforms to pluck injured victims from the ruins. They paused during the
rescue work in the afternoon to study copies of the demolition plan in an effort
to ensure firefighters' safety and help pinpoint those missing. A spokeswoman
for the Labour Department said a joint investigation into the tragedy would be
set up with Buildings Department. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 30 October 2001] 3.
Damaged piling could be to blame for tragedy: experts
The inward collapse that brought down Hoi Pan Industrial Building could be triggered
by damage to foundation piles, say engineers. Engineering-sector legislator Raymond
Ho Chung-tai said the building was of a "flat-slab'' design in which building
platforms were supported by piles on four sides without any beam. In such a building,
demolition should begin from the centre of each floor because demolition from
the outside would leave no support for the central structure. Mr Ho said contractors
had to employ a registered structural engineer to draft a demolition plan for
approval by the Buildings Department. Its officers would make an inspection to
ensure that all precautions had been taken before demolition began. Structural
engineer James Lau Chi-wang said contractors must follow the proper procedure
in demolishing old buildings. "If contractors follow demolition requirements,
collapses are rarely seen,'' he said, adding that vibration from heavy equipment
could weaken the piles and cause a collapse. One of the most serious demolition
accidents in recent years occurred when a 30-square-metre section of a cement
wall of the old Wing On Building at 342 Nathan Road, fell into the street on September
9, 1994. Six pedestrians died and two others were injured. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 30 October 2001] 4.
Airport to expand to fill needs
Hong Kong needs both a bigger airport terminal and a logistics centre as passengers
and cargo are expected to grow by at least 5 per cent a year in the next 20 years,
according to plans unveiled yesterday. The Hong Kong International Airport Master
Plan 2020, shown to legislators yesterday by Airport Authority chief executive
David Pang Ding-jung, said expansion was needed to accommodate 87 million passengers
and nine million tonnes of cargo annually by 2020. Despite a drop in passenger
and cargo traffic in September compared with the same period last year by 7 and
10 per cent respectively, Mr Pang told the Legco economic services panel that
the authority expected "passenger and cargo throughput to grow on average
by 5 and 6 per cent over the coming years''. "The whole of Hong Kong would
benefit if more passengers and cargo passed through the airport,'' he said. The
plan included the development of an elongated X-shaped concourse, logistics parks
and building of a 57hectare Skycity. The satellite concourse would be built in
the airport's midfield area, providing 59 stands for passenger aircraft which
would bring the total number of passenger aircraft stands to 134. Cargo aircraft
stands would be increased from the present 13 to 40 by 2020. Off-airport logistic
parks would be built on North Lantau to boost the SAR as a regional logistics
centre. The Skycity, which is to include an international exhibition centre, a
trade mart, office and retail developments, would be located opposite the existing
passenger terminal. The exhibition centre, due to be completed in 2004, would
cost $4 billion. The government will provide half the funds while the authority
will raise the rest. Legislator James Tien Pei-chun and Cheung Man-kwong said
they were concerned that people would spend their time in the airport area and
leave without visiting the city. "Cutting the flow of people and goods at
the Pearl River Delta region or at the airport could have a negative effect on
business in the urban area,'' Mr Cheung said. But Mr Pang was not worried about
competing with airports in the Pearl River Delta region. "Competition would
only be positive and we will continue our co-operative relations with other airports.''
The Economic Bureau also dismissed the possibility that an expanded airport would
have a negative effect on other industries. The authority's proposal that the
Chief Executive make an order to extend the scope of airport-related activities
on the land leased to it by the government was opposed by legislators who feared
it would give the authority too much power. Legislators suggested instead that
the scope of extension be made through legislation, which could be monitored by
the legislature. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 30 October 2001] 5.
Four people reported missing in building collapse case
It was reported that four people were still missing following the collapse of
a six-storey industrial building at 19 Sze Shan Street, Yau Tong this (October
29) morning. According to the contractor, 14 people were working at the site and
four of them could not be contacted after the building collapsed. Meanwhile, search
operation by the Fire Services is still in progress. Ten people had been removed
from the debris by the Fire Services personnel as at 2 pm. All were sent to United
Christian Hospital. One was certified dead at 1.13 pm, two were in critical condition,
two were in serious condition, two were in stable condition and three were treated
and discharged. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 29 October 2001] 6.
Downturn dumps landfilling charge
A landfill dumping charge was unlikely to be introduced soon because of the economic
downturn, the environment chief said yesterday. Secretary for Environment and
Food Lily Yam Kwan Pui-ying told a Legco environmental panel that the Government
had set no timetable for introducing the fee, although it had reached a consensus
with the business community. "Although it is important to protect the environment,
I have to stress that under the present economic circumstances we need to consider
the impact on different trades," she said. Under the original plan, it was understood
companies would be charged up to $125 a tonne for the rubbish they dumped. The
charge would have applied to construction, demolition, commercial and industrial
waste, but not domestic waste. The Government had secured support from businesses
but faced fierce opposition from truck drivers, who feared they would have to
cover the cost because the waste-producers would not reimburse them. Non-affiliated
legislator Abraham Razack warned that even if the plan were introduced after the
economy had recovered, businesses would be affected by steep charges. Mrs Yam
said she would take the cost to businesses into "full consideration". At the same
meeting, Mrs Yam said inter-departmental communications had been improved to speed
up the processing of environmental impact assessments, in light of the long case
over the plan to put the Lok Ma Chau spur rail line through the Long Valley wetland
- home to more than 200 bird species. Meanwhile, the Government announced at an
earlier panel meeting that it would tighten noise standards for vehicles from
March, bringing them into line with Europe and Japan. [Source:
SCMP, 30 October 2001] 7.
One dead, four missing as building collapses
A worker was killed, nine of his colleagues were injured and four were missing
after a six-storey industrial building collapsed in Yau Tong yesterday while being
demolished. Early this morning emergency workers reportedly found two men believed
to be dead buried under tons of rubble at the site of the Asia Trade Centre in
Sze Shan Street. But they said it could take hours before they could be brought
out. The building, which was more than 20 years old, collapsed just three days
after engineers from the Buildings Department inspected the site as workers began
the first day of demolition work. It came down at about 11am when four excavators
were operating on the sixth floor. Police said there were 14 workers inside the
building and at least eight were working on the sixth floor at the time. Wong
Pui-sing, 39, a foreman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, said:
"I heard this loud bang and thought a gas pipe had exploded. When I looked up,
the scaffolding of the building just dropped like the bottom was lifted out of
it. "There was a lot of dust flying around. I couldn't see anything three metres
in front of me." Watchman Li Tam-kwai, 60, who was on duty at a nearby building,
said: "When I saw the dust flying towards me, I just ran for my life." Firemen,
who were lifted to the site on two extension ladders, rescued 10 injured workers
who were taken to United Christian Hospital, where Siu Wong-sang, 43, was declared
dead. Last night, two men were in a critical condition, two were in a serious
condition and two were stable. The rest were discharged. Hung Ming-yung, Kowloon
East divisional officer at the Fire Services Department, said a three-hour search
yesterday afternoon had failed to locate the four missing men. Lee Tin-ping, Kowloon
East divisional commander, said the search operation had to be conducted with
extreme care to avoid the risk of further collapse. Director of Buildings Leung
Chin-man said: "We will not stop work until everybody has been got out and been
identified." He described it as a "rare situation... not something we have seen
before". He promised a thorough investigation but refused to speculate whether
human negligence was involved. The Buildings Department said it had found all
necessary precautionary measures were in place and safety requirements had been
met when its engineers inspected the building on Friday. A spokeswoman for the
department said the block was being demolished to redevelop a 40-storey industrial
and residential building and there had been no indication of any structural problems
before it collapsed. The developer is Barinet Company, a subsidiary of Asia Standard
International. The executive director of Asia Standard International, Kwan Po-lam,
said last night the company was waiting for a report from its main contractor
for the demolition, Chantex Engineering Company. Another subsidiary company of
Asia Standard International was responsible for management and sales of Swallow
Garden in Fanling, where a balcony of a house collapsed in 1998. [Source:
SCMP, 30 October 2001] 8.
KCRC claims urban rights
Do not call the KCRC a country railway and definitely do not suggest its main
competitor is a racing certainty to win the crucial Central to Sha Tin rail route.
Kowloon Canton Railway Corp wants to be taken seriously as a metropolitan rail
operator and badly needs the cross-harbour link. A decision on whether it or MTR
Corp wins the contract is expected shortly. Victory for the KCRC would make it
the SAR's dominant rail operator, with a fully integrated network across Hong
Kong and into the mainland. Executives enthuse of a future where passengers board
a sleek luxury train in Central and disembark in Beijing. More prosaically, securing
the Central to Sha Tin line would enshrine the KCRC's New Territories rail monopoly
and wrestle a big slice of the lucrative cross-harbour traffic from the MTR Corp.
The battle for the Sha Tin commuter is, at one level, a simple turf war between
two Government-controlled rail operators, but it has far reaching implications
for shareholders in the MTR Corp and the planned privatisation of the KCRC. Merrill
Lynch estimates the MTRC would lose annual fare income of up to HK$1.6 billion
should the KCRC win the HK$30-billion contract linking Tai Wai (the Sha Tin terminus)
Hunghom and Central. As a recently privatised firm that saw passenger patronage
fall 1.5 per cent on its core urban network in the first nine months, that would
hurt. It would also have hit government attempts to sell a second tranche of MTR
Corp shares - previously scheduled for this year. Now, with the MTR Corp offering
on hold due to poor market conditions the pendulum looks to have swung towards
the KCRC. A government gag order prevents either firm talking about their tender
documents ahead of a decision that is expected soon. Recent Chinese-language Press
reports, however, have suggested the odds have been moving in KCRC's favour. Its
finance director, Samuel Lai Man-hay, is uncomfortable with that suggestion: "I
have had assurances from government quarters that this [timing of the MTR Corp
share sale] will not be a consideration, because everything will be evaluated
on a level playing field. "The fact we are 100 per cent owned by the Government
will not give us any benefit." However, in an apparent equivocation on this point
Mr Lai went on to add that: "Of course any benefit accruing to the KCRC all goes
to the taxpayer, whereas, with a private company, part goes to the taxpayer and
part goes to private profit." The MTR Corp remains the clear favourite to win
the Central to Sha Tin link but it is the suggestion of being uncompetitive that
annoys KCRC management. "We have submitted a very good proposal which from our
point of view is the best. There is some misconception in the market that the
KCRC is a rural operation running in the countryside, which is not true. "We are
running 500 trains a day carrying 800,000 people. By any measure it is mass-transit.
We serve Kowloon, which is as urban as anywhere in the world, so there is no reason
why we cannot serve Hong Kong Island." The KCRC is in the throes of an extensive
network expansion that lies at the heart of the Government's rail-led transportation
strategy. Construction on its West Rail route - linking west Kowloon with the
northwest New Territories - was finished ahead of schedule and under budget, with
contractors now working on the track and signalling ahead of a 2003 opening. Extensions
to the East Rail service, linking to Ma On Shan and Tsim Sha Tsui, are scheduled
to open by 2004. Analysts have argued that the MTR Corp remains the better bet
for the cross-harbour route because of operational savings it can wring due to
its existing subway and rolling stock resources. That is rejected by Mr Lai, who
points to a "critical mass" of the project-management expertise the KCRC has assembled
to handle its network expansion. This has involved buying state-of-the-art tunnelling
machinery that can reduce over-ground disruptions. "They should have confidence
in us. We have over 1,000 people in our project management team. They all came
from building the airport [Chep Lap Kok] and the airport railway and railways
elsewhere in the world. Project expertise will come wherever the project is,"
he said. The KCRC differs from the MTR Corp in not relying on property development
to bankroll its projects. Direct government equity injections have funded its
network expansion. The firm's gearing stands at 30 per cent and as of December
31 the KCRC had a US$3.5 billion portfolio of securities and cash on hand of US$1.1
billion. Ahead of a future privatisation of the KCRC that distinction is one Mr
Lai is keen to promote. While it will develop property along the West Kowloon
route it will do so purely as a government agent with profit flowing to Treasury
coffers. "Investors have learnt that, if we are not dependent on property, that
is a major plus, because the property market is up and down and there is no sign
of it recovering soon. [This is] unlike our sister company [MTR Corp], which is
perhaps a mixed bag and its transportation business is not doing as well as expected."
The timing of any KCRC share sale remains with the Government, but Mr Lai believes
that major projects should be completed before equity investors are sought. "An
investor will say 'okay you are investing in two major rail expansion projects'.
Now we are progressing well and investors can see this. But, to eliminate everyone's
doubts, the best time [for a privatisation] is when we complete the railway and
they can see it is earning revenue and therefore project risk is eliminated,"
he said. That suggests a share sale at 2004 by the earliest. However, whether
a cash-strapped Government agrees is another matter. The KCRC faces an additional
HK$2 billion bill to tunnel under the Long Valley to complete its controversial
Lok Ma Chau spur line, and it is investigating a cargo-only route directly linking
to the Kwai Chung container terminal. That project remains in the consultancy
stage and was largely dependent on the building of a sound commercial case that
the high fixed-cost KCRC could compete with other transport modes such as barge
and truck haulage, Mr Lai said. As such it must pass the "commercial principles"
criteria the SAR's railway development has been based on. With its property business
looking sickly, The MTR Corp is betting on the Government maintaining its exclusive
cross-harbour traffic so as not to undermine its operating position. The KCRC
points to reduced interchanges for New Territories commuters should it get the
Sha Tin link. You can be sure the Treasury will be doing its sums with reference
to a future privatisation of a 100 per cent owned corporation. Being second to
the stock market could yet end up in the country railway's favour. [Source:
SCMP, 30 October 2001] 9.
Weight of debris may have caused fatal collapse
The weight of debris and the original use of substandard building materials might
have caused a six-storey building to collapse yesterday, experts said. There were
four mechanical diggers working on the demolition of the industrial building in
Yau Tong when it came down, killing one worker and injuring nine. Dr James Lau
Chi-wang, a council member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers, said workers
and contractors might have been to blame. "They might not have cleared the concrete
debris quickly enough, and hence the pressure on the floor became too much to
bear and it collapsed," he said. Wong Wah-sang, associate professor of architecture
at the University of Hong Kong, said the building might have had structural problems
which the demolition work had helped to weaken to the point of collapse. "One
has to remember that it was built at a time when the practice of using sub-standard
materials for building construction was at its peak. It is a problem that has
been exposed in public estates," he said. Director of Buildings Leung Chin-man
denied his department should be held responsible. "We approved the plan for demolition
of the site. I have personally seen the plan and it fully complied with all safety
regulations," he said. Demolition of industrial buildings reached a five-year
high last year, covering an area of 2.14 million square feet, nearly three times
higher than the previous three years combined, according to official figures.
A spokesman for the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accidents' Victims,
Ng Chung-wai, said the code of practice on building demolition meant there ought
to be little chance of accidents happening, but the situation had deteriorated.
"From the industrial accident cases we have handled in recent months, we found
that under the current market environment, many contractors were doing their best
to cut corners to speed up work and keep down costs," Mr Ng said. "The long-standing
sub-contracting system in the construction trade also serves to make it more difficult
for those at the top to manage the sites." However, Poon To-chuen, consultant
and former chairman of the Hong Kong Construction Industry Employees' General
Union, argued that most contractors followed the code as its content was equivalent
to trade practices. He said if they did not and there was an accident, they could
face large payouts to victims. Labour Department figures show accidents involving
construction workers being trapped by collapsing objects have been decreasing.
There were 77 cases in 1999, but only 48 last year and 22 in the first half of
this year. Labour officers have offered assistance to the accident's victims and
their families. Officials have approached the construction company concerned and
advised it of its legal obligations. A hotline on 2852 3704 has been set up to
answer inquiries. [Source:
SCMP, 30 October 2001] |  |
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