Managers carried out “periodic supervision” during construction but would count on main contractors to inspect work continually
EDDIE LEE
EDDIE.LEE@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 11 November, 2015, 4:17pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 November, 2015, 4:17pm
Edmond Ng Yat-long, eight years old, fetches water from a temporary pipe at Kai Ching Estate in August. Photo: May Tse
The Housing Authority’s contract managers, who administered the building contracts for public rental housing in Hong Kong, did not regularly inspect projects under construction, a judge-led inquiry into the water safety scare at 11 estates heard this morning.
Yim Yu-chau, a chief architect at the Housing Department, the executive arm of the authority, said that as the contract manager for a public housing project, he would carry out “periodic supervision” but would count on the main contractors to inspect their work continually.
Yim was the contract manager for Kai Ching Estate, where the first case of lead contamination of drinking water was uncovered.
“Our site inspection team conducted periodic supervision [on the construction site],” he said in a written statement.
But he said checks for the presence of lead in soldering materials had not been included in the process before the scandal broke.
Excess lead was found in materials used to solder pipes at 11 public housing estates, prompting the government to set up the inquiry.
Yim said China State Construction, the main contractor for Kai Ching Estate, was responsible for carrying out the construction work and checking the entire freshwater plumbing system.
“It appears to me that lead solder was used by China State without permission and in breach of contract,” Yim said.
The subcontracting of part of the construction work did not relieve the main contractor of liability, he added.
But Yim said control mechanisms had been consistent with industry practices and stipulated water quality requirements.
He said he was not present when water samples were taken at the estate during the construction stage.
“The Housing Authority was not aware of the possibility of lead in water and did not conduct any laboratory tests for lead in water before [the problems were identified in July],” Yim told the inquiry on the sixth day of the hearing.
The commission of inquiry, chaired by High Court judge Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai, will ascertain the causes of excess lead found in drinking water at public housing projects and make recommendations to ensure water safety.
The hearings will continue into January.
Meanwhile, the four contractors who carried out construction work on the 11 estates will spend HK$20 million to help 29,000 households on the estates pay their water bills.
The contractors will pay up to HK$660 in water charges for each household affected by the contamination in the next three years.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1877788/housing-authority-contract-managers-did-not
