In response to an incident of falling rendering from the external wall of a warehouse building in Kwai Chung, a spokesman for the Buildings Department (BD) today (April 4) said that the department had issued an investigation order to the concerned owner requiring the appointment of an Authorized Person to conduct an investigation of the concerned external wall, including an analysis on the cause of the falling of rendering, and to submit a report on the investigation and proposed repair works. 

     Upon receiving a notification from the Police in the morning of April 2 about falling rendering from a warehouse building at 35 Wing Kei Road, BD officers were deployed for a site inspection. Officers at the scene found that part of the finishes and rendering had fallen off from the external wall of the ninth floor of the building facing Wing Hau Street. No obvious danger to the overall building structure was noted. The subject building is 25 years old and is 16 storeys in height. According to the approved plans, the sixth to the eleventh floor of the building is used for cold storage. 

     The BD immediately contacted the property management company of the building to take remedial actions. Apart from arranging installation of protective measures on the external wall of the building, the property management company also arranged a registered contractor to commence erection of scaffolding and protective screen on the subject external wall yesterday (April 3) to further ensure pedestrian safety. The BD will continue to closely monitor the case.

     The spokesman for the BD stressed that the department has been adopting a risk-based approach to deal with dilapidated buildings systematically including requiring private buildings aged 30 or above to conduct mandatory inspection, issuing repair orders on defective buildings through proactive large-scale operations and arising from public reports. However, building safety problems could not be sustainably and effectively resolved by the BD’s enforcement actions alone. Owners should assume responsibility for the safety as well as repair and maintenance of their properties while the government will offer assistance and support to responsible owners and take enforcement action to tackle dilapidation of buildings.

     Following the launch of Stage 1 of the Electronic Submission Hub (ESH) (esh.bd.gov.hk) in June 2022 to receive and process building plans and related applications under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) (BO), the Buildings Department (BD) today (March 31) launched Stage 2 of the ESH to accept more types of plan submissions covering the following types of works (excluding alteration and addition works):

(1) hoarding, covered walkway and gantry;
(2) demolition works;
(3) drainage works;
(4) excavation and lateral support works;
(5) ground investigation works;
(6) foundation works;
(7) site formation works; and
(8) all structural works.

     A total of 16 government departments and organisations including the BD will make use of the ESH to receive and process plans submitted by registered building professionals under the BO. In the meanwhile, the BD will continue to develop Stage 3 of the ESH which will accept all types of plans including general building plans and plans for alteration and addition works, as well as related applications.

     The BD encourages building stakeholders to submit plans electronically via the ESH. Details of the requirements for making electronic submissions via the ESH are provided in Practice Note for Authorized Persons, Registered Structural Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers ADM-17 and Practice Note for Registered Contractors 42 available on the BD website (www.bd.gov.hk).

     The BD has set up a dedicated helpdesk at 3580 1000 and email address at esh-helpdesk@bd.gov.hk to provide technical support to users.