A Government spokesman said today (August 2) that consent has been given to resume the excavation and lateral support works of a private development project at 18 Lee Chung Street, Chai Wan.

     The spokesman said that since the readings recorded in five monitoring checkpoints installed on the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) footbridge connecting Ning Foo Street and Chai Wan MTR Station had exceeded the pre-set trigger level for works suspension on February 1, 2023, the relevant works of the development project were suspended on the same day. The Government announced the situation on February 3, 2023, and the Buildings Department (BD) and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) respectively confirmed the structural safety of the railway facilities and safe operation of the railway.

     The registered building professional appointed for the said building works subsequently submitted to the BD an incident report and a proposal of mitigation measures to ensure that the structural safety of the nearby railway facilities concerned would not be affected by the resumption of works, and requested resumption of the suspended works.

     The BD has confirmed the structural safety of the railway facilities concerned. The MTRCL has been consulted and confirmed that the resumption of works will not affect the structural safety of the railway facilities and the safe operation of the railway. The EMSD has reviewed the monitoring data submitted by the MTRCL in relation to the safe operation of the railway and confirmed that the condition of the railway fulfils the operational safety requirements. Regarding the resumption of works, the EMSD has also confirmed that the MTRCL has put in place stringent monitoring measures to ensure the safety of the railway operation.

     Having considered the above advice and the proposal of mitigation measures from the registered building professional, the request for the resumption of works was accepted today and the suspended excavation and lateral support works will resume today.

     The registered building professional of the project has conducted comprehensive and detailed engineering analyses and estimations. Based on the results of the analyses and with reference to the uplift record of the five monitoring checkpoints installed on the footbridge in the vicinity of the site, and the estimated impact of the relevant excavation and lateral support works on the nearby railway facilities, the pre-set uplift trigger level of five monitoring checkpoints for suspension of works has been amended to 3 millimetres, while the pre-set settlement trigger level remained at 20 millimetres. The registered building professional of the project has confirmed that the structural safety of the railway facilities would not be affected by such an extent of uplift and settlement. As the proposed amendment has fulfilled the requirements of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), the BD has accepted this amendment. The MTRCL has also confirmed that the revised trigger level will not affect the safety of railway operation.

     Having considered the circumstances at the railway facilities, the BD has imposed extra conditions when approving the amendment plans, requiring implementation of a series of measures to enhance site supervision and the safety of works when carrying out the remaining works.

     The BD, the EMSD and the MTRCL will continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure structural safety of the railway facilities and the safe operation of the railway, the spokesman said.

Ends/Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:32

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