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Thursday, June 07, 2018, 09:35
MTR admits faulty steel bars found at Hung Hom
By China Daily
Thursday, June 07, 2018, 09:35 By China Daily

A sign shows the Mass Transit Rail (MTR) network metro logo outside a station in Hong Kong on Feb 1, 2010. Rail operator MTR Corporation on June 6, 2018 admitted it had found at most 25 defective steel bars at the construction site of the city’s most expensive railway project. (MIKE CLARKE / AFP)

Rail operator MTR Corporation on Wednesday admitted it had found at most 25 defective steel bars at the construction site of the city’s most expensive railway project.

The faults were spotted before the bars were cemented to create the floor one level beneath the platform for trains going to Tuen Mun and Ma On Shan

The corporation said it would take legal action if there was enough evidence of “corner-cutting” at the Hung Hom Station construction site of the HK$97.1 billion Sha Tin to Central Link.

The MTR said its staff discovered irregularities with steel bars on five occasions between August and December 2015.

The faults were spotted before the bars were cemented to create the floor one level beneath the platform for trains going to Tuen Mun and Ma On Shan.   

Of these five inspections, the one done in December 2015 found five defective steel bars; the remaining inspections found less than five, MTR said.

A detailed investigative report will be handed to the government next week.

The company also said an independent third party would conduct safety tests. These are expected to be finished in three to four months.

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MTR Projects Manager Philco Wong Wai-ming said: “We wrote to the contractor Leighton Contractors (Asia) asking them to rectify the fault after the inspections, where we found five defective steel bars.

“There were 26,400 screw caps used in Hung Hom Station extension works; we have asked Leighton to make sure these meet the required standards,” Wong told a press conference.

MTR conducted a train test run in April. After the test, the engineering structure was considered safe.

Meanwhile, MTR Chief Executive Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen said onsite MTR inspectors would ask the subcontractor to rectify these problems immediately.

Leong said if such problems continue and affect the engineering structure, then MTR inspectors will report this to their superiors. 

“The incident wasn’t reported to the board and the government (at the time), it therefore did not comply with government’s demands,” Leong explained.

Because the incident occurred three years ago, it will take time to gather the necessary information about it, added MTR Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang.

Work on the Sha Tin to Central Link project, operated by the MTR, commenced in 2012. 

The company admitted steel bars between the diaphragm wall and the slab structure were found cut off. It made these revelations last Friday when meeting with the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways.

READ MORE: Works at Hung Hom MTR station inspected

Pamela Lin contributed to the story.

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