Project Description

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is the first large-scale cross-sea passage co-constructed for the
first time under the framework of "One Country, Two Systems", Guangdong, Hong Kong and
Macao. The preliminary work of the bridge started in August 2003, and construction started in
December 2009. It took 15 years before and after preparation and construction, and opened for
operation in October 2018.
The main project of the bridge is constructed, operated, managed and maintained by the Hong Kong-
Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Management Bureau, which is jointly established by the governments of
Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. The three ports and connection lines are constructed and
operated by their respective governments. The main project implements a combination of bridges,
islands, and tunnels, with a total length of about 29.6 kilometers, and a tunnel of about 6.7 kilometers
across Lingding Channel and Tonggu West Channel. An artificial island in the sea (Blue Dolphin Island
and White Dolphin Island) is set at each of the east and west ends. It is as if the "Lingling Double Shell"
is shining; the remaining sections are about 22.9 kilometers as bridges, which are respectively
equipped with the "Chinese knot" Qingzhou Bridge which means three places concentric, the
"Dolphin Tower" Jianghai Bridge where people and nature live in harmony, and the sailing " Three
sailing cable-stayed bridges of the "Sail Tower" Jiuzhou Bridge.
The total area of the artificial island at the Zhu'ao Port is 208.87 hectares, divided into three areas,
namely 107.33 hectares for the Zhuhai Highway Port Management Area, 71.61 hectares for the
Macao Port Management Area, and 29.93 hectares for the Bridge Management Area. The ports are
under their respective independent jurisdiction. The 13.4 km Zhuhai connection line connects the
Zhuhai highway port with the extension of the moon ring to the Nanping branch line of the western
coastal expressway and integrates the bridge into the national highway network. The Macau
connection line connects the Macau reclamation area from the Macao port with the bridge.
The overall layout of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge operating facilities is as follows:
1. Management and Maintenance Center: It is located on Henglong Road, Nanping Town, Xiangzhou
District, Zhuhai City. It has comprehensive office buildings, dispatching centers, road service windows,
dormitories, multifunctional auditoriums and other building construction facilities; it has office work
schedules, dispatching commands and road administration management. Other functions are the
control hub of the bridge's main project.
2. Bridge management area: It is located on the artificial island of the Zhuhai-Ao Port, with toll
stations, tolling and maintenance office buildings, rescue buildings, spare parts warehouses and
maintenance bases, etc .; it has management functions such as tolling, maintenance, and rescue.
3. West artificial island: It has monitoring, maintenance, rescue, and joint management functions of
government departments (fire control, border inspection, customs, traffic police, border control and
other departments); it is mainly to achieve operational management functions and is not open to the
outside world.
4. Eastern artificial island: The first floor has management functions such as maintenance, rescue,
road administration, and government joint-office work. The second to fourth floors are reserved for
commercial development. The eastern artificial island will follow the release of the three places'
policies and start foreign tourism in due course. Tourism and market opening functions.
Opportunity
The bridge will support a dual three-lane carriageway over the Pearl River Estuary – one of the world’s
busiest shipping channels. Formed from pre-stressed concrete box sections, the bridge will be
constructed using the balanced cantilever method. The total length of the crossing is approximately
41.6km, of which 12km is in Hong Kong territory and 29.6km is in Guangdong. A scheme using a
bridge and tunnel combination has been adopted for the main part of the crossing within mainland
territory.
As well as the large scale of the project, there was a range of physical conditions to be overcome
during the construction of HZMB, including the sub-tropical weather, typhoons and heavy rain and
the hydrology and hydrodynamic aspects of the Pearl River estuary. Other factors included the
geotechnical complexity of the site, the multiple navigation channels with high numbers of shipping
movements and height restrictions for nearby airports. The HZMB also crosses environmentally
sensitive areas — particularly the conservation area of the Chinese White Dolphin — which meant
that high standards of environmental protection were set to minimise any effects on the marine
ecosystem and fishery resources.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge: A megaproject full of Chinese wisdom

After eight years of difficult construction, China's much-anticipated Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge
(HZMB) is slated for traffic operation on 2018. The 55-kilometer bridge, crowned one of the "seven
wonders of the modern world" and "Mt. Qomolangma" in the field of bridge construction, is one of
the world's most challenging megaprojects.
"The construction scale and difficulty of the HZMB is the biggest, compared to other existing cross-sea
bridge-tunnel transportation cluster projects," said Su Quanke, chief engineer of the HZMB Authority.
Bridge, island and tunnel, all integral
The world's longest sea-based project comprises four parts, including a 22.9-kilometer steel bridge,
two artificial islands, a submerged sea tunnel extending for 6.7 kilometers at a depth of 40 meters, as
well as leading bridges that connect the bridge to the cities.
For a bridge project, designers prefer to build all the structure on the ground, and only opt to the
tunnel when there is no alternative.
However, for the HZMB, the most feasible design is to integrate bridge, island and tunnel to form a
complete cross-sea channel.  
"The Pearl River Estuary holds a world-level shipping channel where around 5,000 vessels get through
at its busiest time of the day. Smooth traffic should be guaranteed. And the location is near the Hong

Kong International Airport. With about 2,000 flights taking off and landing at the airport, the bridge
cannot be built too high for safety reasons," said Meng Fanchao, chief designer of the HZMB project.
"But you cannot have a submerged sea tunnel without any support. That forced us to build the
artificial islands."

Bridge, island and tunnel are all indispensable to the HZMB project.
Chinese engineers blazed a trail in installing deep-immersed tunnel tubes. "There is no model for us to
refer to as all the cases are shallow-buried tubes," said Su.
"Due to lack of experience, the installation of the first tube lasted for 96 hours, and we did not take a
rest for four days and five nights," said Yin Haiqing, deputy manager of the Project Management
Department for Island and Tunnel. "Everyone was exhausted when we made it."
The 6.7-kilometer tunnel is the world's longest submerged sea tunnel.

The construction of the west artificial island of the HZMB project.

Two artificial islands, covering an area of 200,000 square meters, help create a smooth transition
between bridge sections and tunnels.

Many of the steel components, such as the piers, pylons and immersed tubes, were made by China's
large self-developed equipment, and then shipped to the construction site.

Assembling the precast components is just like building blocks, but with much more difficulty. The
constructors even spun a steel pylon with a height of 160 meters and a weight of over 3,000 tons at
90 degrees above the sea, an unprecedented practice in the history of the world's bridge
construction.
"Such an integrated design would not have been possible if the country's overall research capability
and equipment level had not advanced to the current level," said Su.
The bridge also made a first in China to use robot welding. "The multi-head welding avoids uneven
thermal distribution, eliminating internal stress caused by the welding process," said Chai Rui, deputy
chief engineer of the HZMB Authority.

Longer lifespan, safer design

The bridge has a lifespan of 120 years.

The designers made another breakthrough in the lifespan of the bridge. Bridges in China are usually
designed to serve for no longer than 100 years, and the sea environment will largely shorten the
lifespan of architectures due to high humidity and salinity.
To address the problem, the designers used new materials and new technologies like concrete
reinforcement and rust resistance.
They also applied fire prevention and accident rescue facilities for the bridge. The designers built an
experiment platform for the submerged sea tunnel to conduct combustion tests of vehicles. Three
years of experiments show that the fireproof facility can ensure that the immersed tubes won't be
destroyed for two hours under 1,200 degrees Celsius.
The artificial island also has a marine rescue platform, which will send a rescue team within three
minutes to the tunnel and five to seven minutes to the bridge if an accident happens.  
"The megaproject is also the best place for the application of China's latest technologies," said Su.
"We hope more large projects can play their roles in leading the transformation and upgrading of
China's manufacturing."

TECH & SCI

By Gao Yun
cgtn.com

Eight things you need to know about Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge

1. Vehicles that can use the bridge

Among the vehicle types authorised to use the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao

Bridge (HKMB), shuttle buses will run only between the ports of Hong Kong
and Zhuhai/Macao, not crossing any boundaries.

Cross-boundary coaches via the HZMB will operate similarly to current

coaches that run between the Chinese mainland and the two special
administrative regions through existing ports, such as the Shenzhen Bay Port.

Cross-boundary private cars under quotas for existing boundary crossings (ie,
Shenzhen Bay and Lok Ma Chau) will be allowed to use the bridge without
additional procedures on a trial basis.
According to figures from the Transport Department in Hong Kong, the
number of Hong Kong cross-boundary private cars issued with valid closed
road permits (CRPs) was 30,400 in 2017.

The number of mainland cross-border boundary cars with such permits is

more than 20,000, according to the bridge operator, the HZMB Authority.

Governments in Hong Kong and the mainland have both promised flexible
adjustment of quotas for cross-boundary private cars in accordance with the
traffic volume.

2. Which side of the road are vehicles on?

The HZMB has a dual three-lane carriageway; the speed limit is 100km/h on
the main bridge.

As the bridge is mostly located in mainland waters, vehicles will keep to the
right of the road. Cars can change to the left after passing the boundary
checkpoints in Hong Kong and Macao.

3. What is the toll charge?

The HZMB Authority will be in charge of the bridge toll. The toll will be in
yuan. There is only one toll plaza with 20 toll gates, which is located near the
Macao and Zhuhai ports on the mainland side. All toll gates will be available
for auto-toll systems in Hong Kong and Guangdong province. Besides cash,
bank cards and e-payment such as WeChat Pay and Alipay will be available.

4. Management and customs clearance

The main bridge, located in mainland waters, will be managed by the Hong
Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority, which was jointly founded by the
governments of Guangdong province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region (SAR) and the Macao SAR in 2010. It is responsible for the
construction, operation, maintenance and management of the main bridge.

The authority is located in Zhuhai. There are monitoring centres and

departments charged with responsibilities such as road rescue, maintenance
and fire services, on the west and east artificial islands of the bridge, for daily
operation, maintenance and emergencies.

The ports in Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao will be open 24 hours daily. They
are built and managed by local governments respectively.

Zhuhai and Macao will co-operate to implement one-off customs clearances in

the two ports. The two cities will share immigration data, allowing travellers
to finish the exit and entry process in one pass.

5. Length, tunnel and artificial islands

The HZMB is a 55km-long bridge-island-tunnel complex across the Pearl

River Estuary. It is the world’s longest such sea crossing. The bridge consists
of a 6.7km undersea tunnel, which is the country’s first offshore immersed
tunnel and the world’s longest immersed tunnel for road traffic. It is
connected to the bridge through two offshore artificial islands.

The tunnel is built to reserve room for a planned shipping channel for
passenger liners with a displacement of 300,000 tons. As the planned location
is close to Hong Kong international airport, where there is a height limitation
in the airspace, a tunnel must be built subsea instead of a bridge with tall
towers.
6. When did construction start? What was the cost?

The plan to build a link road across the Pearl River Estuary was initiated by
Hong Kong industrialist Gordon Wu Ying-sheung in 1983. After several twists
and turns, the feasibility study started in March 2004 under the State
Council’s approval. The study report was approved in October 2009, followed
by a commencement ceremony on 15 December in the same year, chaired by
Li Keqiang, then the vice premier, in Zhuhai.

The cost so far of the HZMB is about ¥120bn ($17.4bn), with the 29.6km main
bridge invested in by the three governments estimated at ¥48.1bn. The rest
are investments by individual governments in their ports and link roads to the
main bridge.
7. Why build the bridge?

The most important benefit is that the bridge will provide the east and west of
the Pearl River Estuary with direct road connections, which can enormously
facilitate the development of industries that rely on fast transport, such as
logistics, food, and conventions and exhibitions.

Built to last: The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge has a designed life span of 120 years CREDIT: EDMOND TANG/CHINA DAILY

8. Why does the bridge not connect to Shenzhen?

Looking to the future of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area,

Liu Xiaodong, a major designer of the HZMB, told China Daily that there will
be five bridges across the Pearl River Estuary by around 2035, or one sea
crossing in parallel every 20km.

Future traffic demand was taken into account during the preliminary design
for the bridge back in 2003, Liu said.

“You can't expect one bridge to meet all needs,” Liu said. “The HZMB may not
carry the largest traffic volume; as the first sea crossing in the Pearl River
Estuary, it will pave the way for the adjustment of industrial structure in the
Bay Area,” he said.

The HZMB has brought precious experience for similar projects in the future.
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan link, now under construction, is a perfect example.
Based on technologies, marine data, talents and all the other experiences from
the HZMB, the new link is also a bridge-island-tunnel complex, about 40km to
the north of the HZMB.

www.chinadaily.com.cn

Final preparations: The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and tunnel ahead of its opening

Geotechnical works of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Project

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Bridge Project, being situated in the waters of Lingdingyang of the Pearl River
Estuary, is a mega sea-crossing infrastructure project currently under construction in the Pearl River
Delta of China. It consists of a series of bridges, sub-sea tunnels, viaducts and artificial islands
connecting the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("Hong Kong"), Zhuhai City of Guangdong
Province ("Zhuhai") , and the Macao Special Administrative Region ("Macao"), three major cities
situated on the Pearl River Delta of China. The functions of the Project are: (1) to meet the demand of
passenger and cargo interflows among Hong Kong, Mainland China (particularly the western Pearl
River Delta region) and Macao; (2) to establish a new land transport link between the east and west
banks of Pearl River; and (3) to enhance the economic and sustainable development of the three
major cities in the Pearl River Delta region. The geotechnical works associated with the Project,
including reclamations, onshore and offshore foundations, sub-sea tunnels, artificial islands, earth
retaining structures and roadworks are extensive, large-scale, diversified, challenging and complex.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292213640_Geotechnical_works
_of_the_Hong_Kong-Zhuhai-Macao_Bridge_Project (link for the whole
reference)
MAIN BRIDGE-CUM-TUNNEL
The scheme of using a bridge-cum-tunnel structure has been adopted for the sea-crossing in the
waters of Guangdong. The Bridge is approximately 22.9 km long and across Qingzhou
Channel,Jianghai Channel and Jiuzhou Channel. The Tunnel is approximately 6.7 km long and across
Tonggu Navigation Channel and Lingding West Channel as shown in Fig. 4. Artificial islands are built at
the ends of the Tunnel. West Artificial Island provides transition of the Bridge to the Tunnel. East
Artificial Island provides transition of the HKLR viaduct to the Tunnel. Both artificial islands also
accommodate tunnel ventilation shafts. The eastern edge of East Artificial Island is 150 m west of the
Guangdong/Hong Kong boundary, and the eastern edge of West Artificial Island is 1.8 km from
Lingding West Channel. The minimum edge to edge distance between the two artificial islands is
approximately 5.25 km.

Installed rock socketed large-diameter bored piles 

Installation of precast pier and pile cap

 Installation of bridge segments 
Construction Methods

Dredging of sea sediments for the building of marine bored pile. 

Note the oversized casing that prevent spills and leaks. Photo: EIA

The superstructure will be made of a dual-3 lane with hard shoulders for each bound. 
The method for the construction of the spans was not determined in the EIA but three
different methods were recomended for the contractor to chose from. The first method is
the precast segmental method, which consists in lifting onto place premade segments of
less than 80 metres long.  The second method is the precast spans method, which consists
in lifting onto place premade segments similarly to the first method.  However, the precast
spans method require vessels of mega lifting capacity to lift onto place segments of more
 than 100 meters long.  The third method is the In-situ balanced-cantilever method.  The
former method consists in constructing on place the different segments of the viaduct and
to pre-stress them onto the previous segments.  For navigation purpose, the viaduct
requires having some spans longer than 75 meters.  Therefore, if the contractor chose to
use the first construction method, the precast segmental method, he would also have to
use either of the second or third construction method as well. 

Positives on Construction Method

 The construction methods have all been successfully tested in other bridges and viaducts
construction in the Hong Kong region.
 Oversized casing used in the pile construction significantly reduced spill/leak in previous bridge
construction in Hong Kong.
 The fact that they prohibit blasting during the project is beneficial for human health and it
protects the car-cable facility and railways.
 Use seawall design that is common in Hong Kong and therefore, it is a reliable design.
 Will collect and treat runoffs from reclamation work during construction before discarding them
back into the marine environment.

Negatives on Construction Method

 No information or recommendation on how the current, salt and waves could affect the
viaduct structure and which material should be used to prevent erosion or damage to the
structure (concerning because there are several typhoons per years in the region)
(aGeldenhuys and Coutinho 2012; Hong Kong Tourism Board 2013).
 There has been incidence of tunnel collapse during excavation during the rain season and
no recommendation is available in the EIA regarding that matter (bGeldenhuys and
Coutinho 2012).
 Some relevant information to construction can only be found in other section of the EIA (eg.
sewage construction).
 The EIA does not mention what would happen to the Type 3 dredged sediments if there
were more abundant than expected and if the Hong Kong mud pit capacity had to be
exceeded  (Sciortino 2010).
 Only desilt the runoff from the reclamation work and the EIA does not recommend other
water treatment (removing chemicals, oil, bituminous substances…) before discarding it in
the marine environment.
 Although earthquakes are rare in Hong Kong, such event could liquefy the reclamation work
and break roads and infrastructures. There is no construction recommendation in the EIA on
that subject (Azevedo and Quinta 2011).
McGill
ENVB 437
Team 5
Project Uniqueness
The Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macao Bridge (HZMB), straddled across Lingdingyang of Pearl River
Estuary, linking the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Zhuhai City of Guangdong
Province and Macao Special Administrative Region. The total length is about 42km, counting from the
Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities at the east to the Zhuhai/Macao Boundary Crossing Facilities
at the west. The uniqueness of the project includes:
 The HZMB will be the longest bridge-cum-tunnel sea-crossing with dual 3-lane carriageway,
which is about 35.6km in length from the shore of northern Lantau to the western shore of Pearl
River Estuary.
 The HZMB is to be built with 120 years design life. The design and construction standard not only
need to satisfy the requirements stated in Mainland's relevant regulations and the feasibility
study report, but also suitably taking into account Hong Kong and Macao Standards.
 The HZMB construction environment is complicated. Frequent typhoons, crisscross navigation,
airport height restrictions, high environmental standards, etc should be taken into
considerations.
 To minimize the impact of the bridge design to river flow, navigation and hydrology, there is
stringent requirement to control the water blockage ratio during the selection of options.

Hong Kong’s troubled mega-bridge – counting the human, environmental and financial cost

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge officially opened to traffic on February 2018. But its
construction was late, over-budget and the procedure drivers must go through to actually use the
bridge remains notoriously complex.
The 55km bridge stretches 22.9km over the sea and includes a 6.7km underwater tunnel.
Construction began on the mega-project in 2009 and it was built to have a lifespan of 120
years. Below are some of the controversies which have surrounded its opening
Delays
The opening day of the bridge was pushed back multiple times. It was expected to start operating by
the end of 2016, but the construction of the main projects were only completed in February this
year. The boundary crossing facilities for the Hong Kong side were the final parts to be completed.
The delay in opening the bridge was reportedly because of difficulties in coordination between all
three cities on immigration and customs clearance mechanisms, as well as disagreements over the

desired opening date, which had to be approved by all three sides.

Budget overruns
The initial budget for the Hong Kong side stood at HK$76.2 billion, but the government had to ask for
additional funding from the Legislative Council multiple times, increasing the bill to HK$117.7 billion.
In 2010, a Tung Chung resident filed a judicial review challenging the environmental impact
assessment reports for the bridge. She first won the case but then lost an appeal, before giving up an
opportunity to lodge a final appeal. The government claimed the delay caused by the legal challenge
was around nine months and cost HK$8.8 billion.
But the cost increases were often related to construction issues. In explaining the latest budget
overrun of HK$2.36 billion last November, the government said it was because of a rise in labour and
material costs, and refinements of the design and construction schemes.

Construction problems
In September 2015, the government confirmed that the artificial island for the Hong Kong boundary
crossing facilities – a reclaimed Hong Kong-side port next to the airport – had moved by up to seven 
metres since 2014.

Hong Kong boundary crossing facilities of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. File Photo: GovHK.
In February last year, the Highways Department was accused of covering up the irregular
movements of seawalls built near Hong Kong airport. The department confirmed that it had
discovered “movements” at the end of 2014, but denied allegations from lawmakers that it had tried
to cover up the incident for two years.
Additionally, serious water seepage had occurred at the port immigration building, causing flooding at
a basement generator room. A video shot in June showed black smoke coming out of the electric
cabinet.
Environmental issues
In July 2016, the World Wide Fund for Nature said that no Chinese white dolphins could be found in
the northeast waters near the bridge construction.
But the authorities said the bridge’s location and alignments were carefully chosen to avoid the most
active areas of the rare dolphins. It also said it took eleven mitigation measures to prevent
construction from affecting the dolphins.
A Chinese white dolphin near the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. Photo: WWF.
Fatalities
The construction of the bridge has led to the deaths of 19 workers and injured over 600. A
government investigation into the accidental deaths of two workers was completed last year, but the
Highways Department has yet to make it public.

Drifting breakwater blocks

In April, the breakwater components at one of the bridge’s artificial islands were found to
be disconnected from the main structure. Several veteran engineers said that they offered no
protection at high tide as they are underwater.
But the bridge authority and the Hong Kong government said the design had a scientific basis and
they have confidence.
Falsified tests and hacking
It emerged last year that falsified concrete compression tests had been submitted by engineers.
Technicians used high-strength concrete cubes to falsify the tests in order to replace the original
results.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption charged 19 former laboratory staff at Jacobs China
Limited, a contractor of the Civil Engineering and Development Department, for their alleged roles in
the scandal. A former site laboratory technician was jailed for eight months last December and two
other technicians were jailed for 22 and 32 months in July.
A computer at the bridge project was hacked, though the government only admitted the incident
occurred following media reports two months later. The hackers locked files, demanded ransoms, and
eventually deleted some files after the police were notified.
Break-even period
Before construction started, the expected time for the bridge to break even stood at 36.5 years.
However, because of budget overruns, a decrease in traffic predictions and the limits on use,
mainland scholar Zheng Tianxiang of the Sun Yat-sen University has said that it may take more than 72
years to break even.
COMMUNITY & EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH HKFP REPORTS HONG KONG POLITICS &
PROTEST 23 October 2018 17:43
 Kris Cheng
HONG KONG-ZHUHAI-MACAU BRIDGE USES POOR QUALITY MATERIALS

More scandals about Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (the Bridge)! An engineer, whom
refused to be named, told Apple Daily that a large amount of steel-reinforced bricks were used
to build the Bridge’s pier which damaged the safety and durability of the Bridge. One of the
suppliers of these steel-reinforced bricks admitted that the company had to source a new load
of bricks in April as they found the quality of the bricks was bad. Highways Department
responded to Apple Daily’s enquiry and said that there has been no report on any problem with
the positioning bricks and steel bars used in the Bridge, and the construction progress is not
affect even though the project will not be completed by end of 2016 as originally scheduled.

The informer said that unqualified steel-reinforced bricks were used at contract No.
HK/2011/09 of the Bridge. The contractor of this section is Dragages-China Harbour-VSL Joint
Venture and the section’s contract is HK$12.9 billion. Steel-reinforced bricks are used to
support and secure the position of steel bars to prevent them from moving when casting
concrete. The bricks also help prevent steel bars from erosion.

Mr Au from China Glass Fibre Moulding Company, one of the steel-reinforced bricks
manufactures in Hong Kong, confirmed that the contractor of the Bridge’s project mentioned
above called him in April for emergency help. Mr Au recalled his conversation with the
contractor, “when he was building the first bridge pier, all the steel bars were put in place but
he could hear some (abnormal) cracking sound. He said he couldn’t sleep that night. The
morning after that, he called and asked me to send him the (steel-reinforced) bricks.”

Au said that the contractor never bought any bricks from CGFM, and he thinks that the sudden
change of supplier could be due to the quality of the original stock the contractor purchased.
“Only when he worried about bad thing is going to happen, he contacted me. He knew all
along that the quality of the bricks he got was not good enough!” When approached by Apple
Daily, the contractor refused to name the supplier who provided the original stock and
declined to comment on why he changed the supplier at the very last minute.

Highways Department said the contractor is responsible for the construction of the beam of
the bridge pier and part of the bridge pier projects in the sea. The spokesperson from HD also
said that the contractor had been using CGFM since February 2014 and stressed that the
contractor never changed supplier and did purchase sufficient amount of steel-reinforced
bricks ahead of time.

However, Mr Au from CGFM said that the contractor only bought the bricks from him in April
and asked him to write two invoices of 9,000 pieces of steel-reinforced bricks each dated
back two months. “They started the construction in January, but before we send the our order
in April to them, they never ordered a single piece of brick from us.” Due to the need of the
project, the contractor also purchased bricks of different shapes and sizes from two other
manufacturers.

Civil engineer and structural engineer Simon So Yiu-kwan said, due to the high air void ratio in
poor quality steel-reinforced bricks, if low quality bricks are used, the risk of steel bars being
exposed to water vapour is much higher. If steel bars are eroded, they will expand and push
outward causing the concrete to crack. He also said that it can be fixed before casting
concrete, but once this step is completed there is no mean to fix the problem

31 Oct, 2015 · by realhknews · in Breaking News