Lawmakers urged the Housing Authority to install safety devices for lifts in public housing for more than 25 years to mitigate power-related incidents.
This comes after the authorities implemented a program assessing and modernizing the aged lifts in public housing estates, which accounts for 1,400 out of around 6,200 lifts as of September.
Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun emphasized that the government should install post-voltage-dip operation (PVDO) as well as automatic rescue devices (ARD) for those lifts.
The Deputy Director of the Housing Department Ricky Yeung Yiu-fai indicated that the PVDO standard was implemented by the government in 2009, followed by the introduction of the ARD in 2012. Subsequently, all tender documents for public housing have incorporated the standards.
Yeung noted that the Department will incorporate both devices in future public housing projects and lift replacements.
Additionally, Tien highlighted that several public housing built in 1987 or earlier in New Territories North West -- including Sam Shing Estate, Butterfly Estate, Yau Oi Estate in Tuen Mun, etc -- still lack devices to prevent lift accidents.
Yeung responded that the Department will examine and arrange installation if the situation meets the necessary criteria.
