Safety-approved scaffolding nets to arrive before Lunar New Year, says industry rep

A total of 50,000 scaffolding nets procured by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) for 418 buildings are expected to arrive in batches and be fully delivered to Hong Kong before the Lunar New Year, according to Lawrence Ng San-wa, permanent honorary president of the Hong Kong Construction Sub-contractors Association.

Speaking on a radio program on Monday, Ng said there will be sufficient scaffolding nets for industry use, but noted that not all contractors have applied to purchase the new netting through the council.

The Buildings Department earlier found that two contractors had installed scaffolding nets that failed to meet required safety standards through its monitoring mechanism. The contractors were ordered to remove the nets and are being investigated for the irregularities.

Ng said the contractors involved may have rushed to complete projects or specific construction phases toward the year-end. He described the practice of installing netting before obtaining test reports as irrational and reckless, stressing that using substandard scaffolding nets constitutes a violation.

He explained that regulatory requirements are stringent, as contractors must submit applications to the Buildings Department for approval before commencing site works. They are also required to provide the department with a completed form and a qualified testing report prior to installing the nets.

Ng added that two main types of scaffolding nets are currently available on the market. Large construction companies tend to place advance orders to label nets for their own sites, while other contractors rely on subcontractors to handle procurement.

He recommended that the Construction Industry Council establish a “whitelist” of qualified netting suppliers for industry reference and urged contractor associations to coordinate bulk procurement for their members.