'Total Collapse Of Quality Control At Hung Hom'

Engineering constituency lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok on Wednesday described the latest twist in MTR Hung Hom station construction scandal as a "total collapse" of the quality control system.

The chairman of the pro-government Business and Professionals Alliance was reacting after government officials revealed that unapproved changes were made in more areas of the station and a large chunk of critical paperwork related to the construction has gone missing.

Lo said maintenance of records were the “ABCs” in constructions and the loss of 40 percent of a key set documents, known as RISC forms, were “deeply concerning”.

"In construction site management, there are two very important management principles. One is risk management, and the other is traceability. So the missing of the records implies that the basic principle of traceability was not followed carefully," he said.

Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan said the blame should not be pinned on the rail operator alone as the government has also failed in its role of monitoring the project.

The government seems like a toothless tiger against MTR in the whole saga, she said.

"They need to stand firm and set the deadline the MTRC to provide all these necessary information," Chan said

Democratic party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting went a step further and called for the Transport Secretary Frank Chan to step down, saying he has failed in his duty.

The construction at the Hung Hom station is part of the much delayed Shatin-to-Central link which has been hit by numerous delays, causing the budget to balloon up to nearly HK$100 billion, making it the most expensive development undertaken by MTR so far.