Defects at Hong Kong MTR station ‘unimaginable’, engineers and lawmakers say

The mistakes that left about 30 columns defective at a Hong Kong railway station under construction were “unimaginable”, lawmakers and engineers have said, adding that the repairs were expected to be straightforward and unlikely to delay the project.

The MTR Corporation was also urged on Sunday to set up a reporting mechanism that would allow frontline workers to flag problems during construction.

The comments came a day after the Buildings Department revealed that about 30 columns at the MTR’s Tung Chung West station, now under construction, were defective as the concrete had failed to reach the upper ceiling, leaving steel reinforcement bars exposed.