Flat Project To Restart As MTR Subsidence Is Reset

Construction work will resume at a private residential project in Tin Shui Wai, after the government substantially relaxed the tolerance limit for subsidence at a Light Rail stop nearby.

Piling work for the Sun Hung Kai Properties project was suspended in June last year after subsidence at the Tin Wing LRT stop reached 80 millimetres.

But the rail facilities have kept on sinking since, and according to documents submitted to Yuen Long District Council, they had sunk a total of 96 millimetres as at May 7.

However, a government spokesman said an analysis by the project's structural engineer found that even if the platform sinks 150 millimetres, its structural safety would not be affected.

He said government engineers, as well as the MTR Corporation, agreed with the analysis, and have therefore relaxed the tolerance limit to 150 millimetres.

Work on the residential project will resume in phases from next Friday.

The developer will have to start with grouting work as part of mitigation measures.

It will also have to assess the effectiveness of those measures and submit a report to the Buildings Department, which will then decide if the project can be completed.

Officials added that, among other things, the developer has been asked to submit monitoring data on subsidence on a monthly basis, and they will follow up on the situation closely.