Contractors suspended over ‘extremely serious’ Queen Mary Hospital lift defects

Hong Kong's authorities have suspended the main contractor and lift subcontractor responsible for Queen Mary Hospital's new clinical block from future public works tenders due to the serious defects that left most lifts unreliable and delayed the hospital's services launch. The Architectural Services Department disclosed that the contractors' poor performance was recorded in assessment reports and they would bear the full cost of remedial works and may face claims for losses arising from service delays.

The main contractor for the first phase of the redevelopment was the Paul Y – Able Joint Venture, while the lift subcontractor was Anlev Elex Elevator, a subsidiary of ATAL Engineering Group. The department identified damaged electronic components, faulty wiring connections, and poor installation workmanship as the primary issues affecting 24 of the 28 lifts in Clinical Block 1.

These defects caused lifts to start or stop unevenly, halt at non-level positions, or fail to open doors. Only four lifts, serving non-clinical facilities, required minor repairs. Despite the lifts' safety-protection systems functioning correctly, they were activated frequently, causing the lifts to halt repeatedly. The issue has raised questions about how the lifts could have passed statutory safety examinations yet remained too unreliable for clinical operations.

The Architectural Services Department pledged to review the problems and improve its supervision of future projects. Meanwhile, an engineer named Poon called for a thorough investigation, invoking default provisions under the project contract, and withholding retention and final payments until the lifts and negative-pressure systems were properly completed.