Key facts
- About 30 concrete pillars at the Tung Chung West station platform level were found defective as of November 6, the Buildings Department said.
- The Highways Department required MTR Corporation to submit a detailed investigation report within two weeks.
- The Highways Department said the contractor must carry out repairs at its own cost.
- The Buildings Department required the registered structural engineer to submit an investigation report and remedial proposals by mid-November.
- The Buildings Department said the top-down construction method and temporary slab supports mean the defects do not endanger the structure.
- The Highways Department said the 2029 opening target for the station remains unchanged.
About 30 concrete pillars at the platform level of the MTR Tung Chung West station have been found defective, Hong Kong's Buildings Department said, with the count as of November 6. The station is part of the Tung Chung Line extension, which MTR Corporation is building under the ownership approach, with the government monitoring progress, safety and quality through risk-based inspections, the Highways Department said.
The Buildings Department said the project's registered structural engineer found a defective pillar in early October and required the contractor to rectify it, and that the defect did not pose an immediate danger so immediate reporting was not required. During a routine inspection on October 27, department officers confirmed two defective pillars and required a full investigation and rectification. More pillars with similar defects were found as formwork was removed, and the engineer reported to the department on November 3.
The department said the station is built using the top-down method, with temporary supports for the slabs not yet removed, so the defects do not endanger the structure. It found no evidence of deliberate deviation from approved plans and said the engineer followed procedures in following up on the defects. It required the engineer to submit an investigation report and proposed remedial measures by mid-November.
The Highways Department said it received a report from MTR on November 2 that construction quality problems were found in some concrete pillars at the platform level and that the contractor had attempted repairs using an unapproved method. MTR immediately stopped the works, the department said. Its officers inspected the site on November 3 and 4 and met MTR on Friday.