Hong Kong – HB concerned about situation of transitional housing project T-Loft@Kai Tak (with photos)

     Regarding water seepage in some of the units at the transitional housing project T-Loft@Kai Tak, a spokesperson for the Housing Bureau (HB) said that upon noting in early May this year that some units of the project were identified with water seepage, the HB immediately ascertained with the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs), architectural consultants and contractor of the project the situation. The HB noted that the TWGHs had immediately instructed the architectural consultants and contractor of the project to carry out rectifications and improvements as soon as possible, including conducting emergency inspection and repair works of the water pipes for the affected tenants. The Task Force on Transitional Housing (the Task Force) under the HB has also been closely liaising with the TWGHs to provide technical support and advice, and had meeting with the respective District Council (DC) members, TWGHs, affected tenants and architectural consultants and contractor of the project to discuss the follow-up actions.
 
     The project contractor completed the emergency repair works for water pipes in early May this year, and inspection and rectification works for the pipes were completed between June and July for all 40 units granted entrance by the households. The contractor also arranged repair works, including replacing wall panels for affected tenants whose units were identified with water seepage. As at end July, the project contractor has completed the required rectifications for around 60 affected units granted entrance by the tenants. The TWGHs has been liaising with the remaining 20 or so households, who were unable to let maintenance staff in earlier for inspection or repairing, to arrange the date and time for entering their units, so as to carry out rectification works as soon as possible. The TWGHs targeted to complete all rectification works by September this year. It is learnt that a small number of tenants refused to let maintenance staff in for rectification works.
 
     The Under Secretary for Housing, Mr Victor Tai, together with the TWGHs, architectural consultants and contractor of the project had a site inspection to T-Loft@Kai Tak and met with the tenants yesterday (August 26). He reiterated that the team has to carry out necessary rectifications for the affected units as soon as possible. The HB has also instructed the TWGHs to carry out comprehensive inspection for the entire project (including households and common area not affected by the incident) according to HB’s established procedures and relevant regulatory requirements. The HB will continue to follow up closely on the incident. On the other hand, the Task Force gave a detailed account of the situation and follow-up actions at the meeting of the Social Services, Housing and Development Planning Committee under the Kowloon City DC held on August 1. There are numerous projects in the territory constructed using the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) approach with assured standard. The water seepage in this case is not related to MiC.
 
     The spokesperson added that “the Funding Scheme to Support Transitional Housing Projects by Non-government Organisations” (the Funding Scheme) provides one-off funding for non-government organisations (NGOs) to take forward transitional housing projects. Apart from funding for the works, the Task Force also provides advice and technical support to NGOs on various aspects of the projects (including statutory requirements on building plans, transportation and fire safety, etc.). The Task Force also helps bridge NGOs and relevant departments (such as the Buildings Department, the Lands Department, the Transport Department, the Water Services Department and the Fire Services Department) and facilitate their liaison to promptly resolve various issues encountered and timely obtain relevant approvals when implementing a project. On inspection, with the support of the Task Force, the NGOs operating the transitional housing projects would engage their own professional consultant teams for the design, building control and inspection works of the projects. The inspection standards and procedures (regardless of the MiC modules, or other structures and works) must strictly comply with relevant regulations to ensure the quality of transitional housing projects are up to standard.