Hong Kong’s rail operator has confirmed that unapproved materials were used in some construction works for the Tung Chung East MTR station project, with the Transport and Logistics Bureau raising concerns and demanding the firm avoid any repeat incidents.
In a reply to the Post, the MTR Corporation said on Wednesday that it had already issued notices of non-compliance over the use of such materials in construction work at two locations before it received media inquiries.
But it stopped short of providing any details about the issues with the construction work.
The bureau said it had demanded that the rail firm flag the issue when it conducted an appraisal of the contractor.
“We are very concerned about the incident where the contractor of the Tung Chung East Station had used construction materials that were not given to the MTR Corporation for approval,” a spokesman said.
“We have already demanded that the MTR Corporation take the appropriate measures, reflect the incident in the contractor’s performance evaluation, stringently supervise the contractor to follow the requirements of the contract, ensure construction quality, as well as stringently follow the requirement for approvals to prevent similar incidents from happening again.”
According to local media, issues were uncovered involving the self-tapping screws and shear bolts used by the contractor at the planned station.
The contractor is a joint venture entity between now-liquidated Paul Y Engineering and Beijing-based construction firm China Railway Construction Corporation.
The MTR Corp said the contractor had followed up on its concerns by submitting information on relevant materials to the rail giant and testing samples from the construction sites.
“The relevant tests have been finished and it has been confirmed that the materials conform to the demands of the contract and those stated by ordinances,” the corporation said.
The rail firm said construction works at the two affected locations had not reached the delivery stage yet, adding it would scrutinise works and ensure that all processes would strictly follow the established procedures.
The quality of the station’s building materials was already the subject of concern earlier this year.
The MTR Corp filed a police report in August over counterfeit bricks that were used at the site.
The scandal came to light after a media report alleged that the project’s contract required the use of German-engineered “YTong” bricks.
The subcontractor reportedly procured a similarly named product – “Beijing YiTong” – believed to have been made in mainland China.
The fakes were used in non-structural walls, which have since been ordered to be demolished.
