The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong put forward building-safety proposals on 4 November after a fire at a residential estate. One would require major repairs in large, occupied estates with several blocks to be carried out in phases, block by block, under binding guidance.
Alliance leader Jimmy NG Wing-ka proposed reviewing contractor supervision and making main contractors share responsibility when site-quality problems are found. They should also face disciplinary consequences, he said, to encourage closer oversight of subcontractors.
The alliance also called for stricter prequalification of engineering consultants and contractors, improved appointment documents and tighter checks on construction materials. The measures are intended to address bid-rigging and poor-quality work, with serious action against contractors, subcontractors and supervisory staff who do not comply.
For ageing buildings, an industrial-sector representative said the pace of issuing mandatory inspection notices was failing to keep up with building deterioration. He proposed more ambitious targets for issuing notices and a public condition database covering buildings more than 30 years old, to encourage owners to maintain them earlier and on an ongoing basis.
The alliance also proposed dedicated funding for businesses working on internet-connected fire-detection technology. For public housing completed before 1980, it called for a redevelopment timetable, with work on 12 estates to begin within 10 years.