HKZM bridge seawall collapse went unreported

The delayed Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge experienced a seawall collapse on reclaimed land along the east coast of the airport island back in 2014, due to irregular additions that extended the bridge by up to 10 meters.

The Highways Department did not disclose any information regarding the incident until Sunday, following a media report accusing the department of a cover-up.

The director of Highways, Daniel Chung, admitted that in October and November 2014, two seawalls – one measuring 300 meters long and another 250 meters long – had been extended by about 5 to 10 meters each.

Chung claimed that the Department immediately demanded the responsible contractor to examine the issue and commence remedial work, after on-site supervisors discovered the extensions.

As the land reclamation area involves 23 hectares of land and the construction of seawalls, Chung reasoned that such incidents were a natural phenomenon. Yet he affirmed that the incident would have no effect on the target completion date (this year-end) of the multi-billion dollar bridge.

“The incident hasn’t caused any impact to nearby residents. It is not a safety issue. It hasn’t caused any environmental impact. The public might not be concerned about it,” he argued.

The director also noted that the problem had been fixed by the contractor, who shouldered the extra cost of the remedial work.

“That’s why we hadn’t announced anything about it. We have resolved all those problems; we don’t think there is a need to tell the public about it. If we do so, maybe every day we have to tell something about the project to the public,” he added.