Hong Kong’s planned renovation body may be liable for poor oversight: minister

Hong Kong’s planned renovation monitoring body could be held liable for poor oversight when recommending and keeping tabs on consultants and contractors, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho has warned, as officials detailed broader reforms to curb malpractice during major building repairs.

Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong Wai-lun on Friday also gave assurances that a new department overseeing major renovation projects would adopt a fresh approach and provide training, despite being staffed by personnel from the Housing Bureau’s Independent Checking Unit (ICU) – the agency with the biggest responsibility for the city’s deadliest fire in Tai Po.

The officials’ remarks followed a second public apology from the ministers implicated in the inferno, with authorities vowing to have enforcement agencies sit in “high-risk” owners committee meetings and criminalise bid-rigging by next April.