Hong Kong authorities to revoke contractor’s licence over safety record
Aggressive Construction Company linked to three incidents resulting in five fatalities, including a fallen crane that killed three workers in 2022
Authorities will revoke a Hong Kong construction company’s operating licence next month over safety concerns following five fatalities in three accidents, including a 2022 crane tower collapse that killed three workers, with the decision set to affect work on thousands of public housing flats being built.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said on Thursday that Aggressive Construction Company would be removed from the government’s registered list of contractors on June 20.
“From that day onwards, it cannot carry out any building works under the Buildings Ordinance,” Linn said.
In response, the company said on Thursday night that it would file an appeal against the decision, arguing it had stepped up safety checks since the fatal 2022 accident. It warned that the government’s move would slow the progress of public housing flats and affect the livelihoods of thousands of workers.
The firm, a subsidiary of Great Harvest Group, came under intense scrutiny when a 65-tonne tower crane collapsed at a site on Anderson Road in Kwun Tong in September 2022. Three workers died in the accident and six others were injured.
Linn said Aggressive Construction’s registration expired in April 2023, and while it had submitted a renewal application, building authorities took time to thoroughly review the information and conduct necessary interviews.