21 arrested for fake concrete test reports

The city’s anti-graft watchdog on Tuesday arrested 21 staff members of a contractor for suspected corruption because they had allegedly submitted fake concrete test reports for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge project.

It is too early to estimate to what extent the suspected fake reports would affect the bridge’s safety. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has not revealed which part of the bridge the samples involved, an engineering expert said.

The ICAC arrested two senior site laboratory technicians, 12 site laboratory technicians and five laboratory assistants of a contractor who worked for the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD). They had conducted compression tests on samples of concrete used for the bridge project.

In the investigation after a CEDD corruption complaint, the ICAC found some laboratory staff might have replaced the concrete samples by using a metal calibration cylinder and/or high-strength concrete cubes for the tests. But two senior site laboratory technicians confirmed the allegedly false test reports.

All have been released on bail pending further inquiries.

Chairman of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency and engineering sec- tor lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok said fake tests would have failed to reflect the bridge’s real situation — such as its bearing capacity.

In the worst-case scenario, use of substandard concrete would force the government to rebuild some parts of the bridge, Lo said.

If the standard was within a certain range, the government may have to strengthen parts of the bridge with additional materials.

But it might not be necessary to state that the safety of the bridge is at risk, he added.

Lo explained that if the samples were from the paving of the road on the bridge, the danger would be much smaller than for material from the bridge pillars.

He also noted that further tests of concrete samples from the bridge were needed for the government to assess whether other remedies, such as consolidation, should be made. The possibility of a rebuild was slim, Lo added.

Secretary for Development Eric Ma Siu-cheung said the government would closely follow the case. It would review the bridge’s safety to see whether any improvements were needed.

According to ICAC, CEDD hired the contractor in January 2013, requiring that all samples used for the bridge pass the tests within a set time frame.

The 55-kilometer-long Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is expected to be operating by the end of this year..