'Contractor Continued Digging Despite MTR's Ban'

Legco's railways subcommittee chairman Michael Tien alleged on Tuesday that a contractor continued digging at the Exhibition Centre MTR Station site until recently, despite MTR bosses officially asking it to stop over safety fears.

The order to stop excavation work, carried out by a joint venture between Leighton and China State Construction, was made about two weeks ago after the MTR found out there was inadequate support underground.

But according to the lawmaker, the digging continued until Saturday because Leighton's manager at the site thought it was fine to carry on due to the presence of underground rocks.

Tien, who first revealed the problem last week, said this latest incident is not just about safety, but also the contractor's "complete defiance" of the railway company's rules and procedures.

"They are not not following the rules despite a written warning from the MTR. To me, it's a very, very serious problem, because God knows what's going to happen next time," Tien told RTHK's Janice Wong.

Exhibition Centre Station is the third station along the MTR's Shatin-Central Link to be hit by a substandard works scandal.

Acting Chief Executive Matthew Cheung, meanwhile, said the MTR Corporation will submit a report on the Exhibition Station concerns on Tuesday.

The railway operator was also due to submit a report on Monday over safety issues linked to walls built at To Kwa Wan Station. But MTR bosses didn't hand it in, saying this was because Monday was a public holiday.

Cheung did not respond to a question on whether the corporation would be penalised for the delay.