New renovation body will draw legitimate contractors back to market, sector says
Hong Kong’s new renovation monitoring body will encourage legitimate consultants and contractors previously plagued by intimidation from bid-rigging syndicates to return to the market, industry representatives have said, potentially lowering costs for homeowners in the long run. Renovation and construction sector players said on Monday that the new Building Maintenance Support and Services…
The Hong Kong government has introduced a new monitoring body to restore legitimacy to the renovation sector, which has long suffered from intimidation and bid-rigging. The Building Maintenance Support and Services Council, led by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, aims to heighten scrutiny of the tendering process through law enforcement integrity checks and background investigations.
Kenny Tse, a surveyor, explained that legitimate firms were deterred by bid-rigging and triad infiltration, but the government's measures and pre-qualification lists will now give them confidence to compete again. The council received 650 applications for three pre-qualification lists, with contractors receiving 350. Lawrence Ng, the permanent honorary president of the Construction Sub-contractors Association, emphasized that intimidation caused competent contractors to opt out, and the government's regulation would provide new opportunities.
He recommended a "two-envelope" tendering system, where a quality proposal is assessed first, followed by a price proposal only if the quality score is met. Ng also stressed that the lowest bidder should not automatically win, as inadequate budgets often result in unsafe and substandard work. The reforms aim to criminalize bid-rigging, with penalties including up to 10 years' imprisonment and a HK$10 million fine.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
