Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong Proposes Building Safety Reforms, Urges Main Contractors to Be Responsible for Site Quality and Large Estates to Carry Out Repairs in Phases

The Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong today released building safety reform proposals, including requiring main contractors to be responsible for site quality issues and stipulating that repairs at large estates must be carried out in phases. Former Secretary for Transport and Housing Anthony Cheung Bing-leung wrote that legislation to "forcibly purchase" the ownership of Wang Fuk Court could easily set a precedent for the government depriving people of private property, and called on the authorities to publish the building inspection report to allay residents' concerns. The alliance's Sunny Tan says the government has given comprehensive thought to the matter; engineer Lo Kwok-ming says legislation can avoid judicial review and agrees that the provisions can specify handling as a special case.