Transport barges stationated near the under construction Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge
The Hong Kong Highways Department admitted on Friday that the huge 22 steel cells used to fix seawalls around an artificial island created for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge facilities have risen from their original position.
According to the department, most of the huge structures for the mega bridge had drifted three to five meters upwards, while two have shifted by more than six meters and will need to be adjusted.
However, according to a South China Morning Post report, director of Highways Peter Lau Ka-keung was confident that the HKD117 billion bridge would be completed by the end of 2017, and stressed that many of the problems had been fixed and shouldn’t cause delays.
“For the six steel cells which had smaller scale movements, we have already fixed the problems with our contingency fund because we wanted to catch up with the deadline,” he added.
He also revealed that five remaining steel cells have yet to be fixed, but failed to disclose the cost of remedial work.
The director also said that other steel cells had experienced minor movements, which were generally less than two meters. He explained that such movements were normal due to the adoption of a non-dredging method, a more environmentally friendly form of reclamation.
Meanwhile, Professional Commons convener Albert Lai Kwong-tak called for an independent investigation into the matter, accusing the Highways Department of failing to explain why the contractor had used the wrong construction method in the first place, which caused the larger movements of the island.
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