{
  "id": 976670,
  "title": "Contractors suspended over ‘extremely serious’ Queen Mary Hospital lift defects",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/15/contractors-suspended-over-extremely-serious-queen-mary-hospital-lift-976670",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-15T06:40:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post-hong-kong",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3364137/contractors-suspended-over-extremely-serious-queen-mary-hospital-lift-defects"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The main contractor and lift subcontractor for Queen Mary Hospital’s new clinical block in Hong Kong have been suspended from future public works contracts following serious defects in the lifts, which left most of them unreliable and delayed the hospital's launch of services. The Architectural Services Department disclosed that the contractors' poor performance was documented in assessment reports, and they would be accountable for the total cost of remedial works, potentially facing claims for losses due to delays in the HK$15.15 billion redevelopment project. The main contractor for the first phase was the Paul Y – Able Joint Venture, while the lift subcontractor, Anlev Elex Elevator, is a subsidiary of ATAL Engineering Group, owned by Otto Poon Lok-to, husband of former justice secretary Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah. The department identified issues such as damaged electronic components, faulty wiring connections, and subpar installation workmanship as the root cause of the problems in 24 out of the 28 newly installed lifts. These defects led to lifts starting or stopping unevenly, halting at non-level floors, or failing to open their doors. The remaining four lifts, serving non-clinical facilities, only required minor repairs. Despite the lifts' safety-protection systems functioning correctly, they activated frequently, causing the lifts to halt repeatedly. The department emphasized that the lifts had passed a statutory safety examination and were certified by a registered engineer before being used. However, questions remain as to how the lifts could have passed such an examination yet remained too unreliable for clinical operations. The Architectural Services Department pledged to review the issues encountered during the acceptance stage to enhance oversight of future projects.",
  "summary": "Hong Kong authorities have suspended the main contractor and lift subcontractor working on Queen Mary Hospital’s new clinical block from public works tenders after serious defects left most lifts unreliable and delayed the launch of services. The Architectural Services Department said in a social media post late on Friday that the contractors’ poor performance had been recorded in assessment…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Contractors suspended over ‘extremely serious’ Queen Mary Hospital lift defects",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/15/contractors-suspended-over-extremely-serious-queen-mary-hospital-lift",
        "published": "2026-08-15T06:40:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}