Bridge Authority's Design Claim A Lie, Says Expert

A founding member of the Civic Party, who is also a construction expert, has accused mainland authorities of lying about the design of the controversial bridge to Macau and Zhuhai, saying concrete blocks placed randomly as a breakwater will not stop strong waves.

Simon So, who is a civil and structural engineer, said it is impossible that the scattering of the concrete blocks as seen in some drone footage was done by design.

Earlier this week, Hong Kong highways director Daniel Chung, who held talks with mainland authorities building the project, said he was told that the blocks were not "drifting away" as some had claimed, but had been placed randomly by design.

But So said any professional should know that if these concrete blocks, known as dolosse, are submerged under water, they will fail to protect an island against the force of powerful waves.

He told a media briefing that the blocks must be stacked up properly along the shoreline if they are to effectively dissipate the energy of the waves.

A member of the Neo Democrats, Roy Tam, who was also at the media briefing, called on the bridge authority to come clean.

Neo Democrats lawmaker Gary Fan said he will continue to press the Hong Kong government for answers, and for the original design blueprints to be made public.