Contractor removed from register over fatal industrial accident in Yau Tong: development chief

Aggressive Construction Engineering will be removed from the registry of general building contractors starting November 16 as the company’s application for license renewal has been rejected by the Buildings Department, said Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho. 

Following the expulsion, Aggressive is prohibited from carrying any construction work and has about a month to take care of the loose ends, Linn said. 

The company is involved in a string of fatal industrial accidents, including one where a worker was killed by a falling H-beam at a Yau Tong construction site last December. 

Linn said the company’s registration for general building contractors expired last December. The Buildings Department then referred Aggressive’s application for renewal to the contractors registration committee to conduct interviews and assessments. 

The department finally decided to turn down Aggressive’s application after considering suggestions by the committee, Linn said. 

The development chief noted that Aggressive now have five new residential and composite projects underway, involving some 4,900 homes. 

Among them, nearly 1,700 units from three projects have been sold during the pre-sale. Most of the units are expected to be finished by late 2024 or 2025. 

Aggressive is also the contractor for a small-scale work for a recreational facility, Linn added. 

She continued that the decision may cause inconvenience to those projects but stressed that the government must strike a balance between ensuring safety at construction sites and conveniencing contractors’ works. 

She also pointed out that developers and registered professionals can appoint another registered contractor to handle their ongoing projects within a month, saying that the impact is controllable. 

When asked if the decision would affect workers, Linn believes developers will have the incentives to continue to hire workers from the same sub-contractor. 

Although workers at certain sites will be affected, Linn said it won’t be a big problem given the current labor shortage faced by the construction industry. 

As for Aggressive Construction Co Ltd, which was responsible for the crane collapse on Anderson Road that killed three last September, Linn said its registration has expired in April. 

Linn stressed authorities will handle its renewal application according to existing mechanisms and won’t keep an eye shut.