Accident-plagued construction firm confident of getting license renewed

Great Harvest Group, parent company of construction contractor Aggressive Construction Company, is currently in the process of renewing its license following a series of fatal industrial accidents.

Despite the company's involvement in three accidents resulting in five deaths since 2020, including the crane collapse on Anderson Road in September 2022, the group's general manager, Chow Cheung-kwong, expressed confidence in obtaining a license renewal after implementing various improvement measures.

During an event promoting work site safety, Chow said: "We have learned valuable lessons from past accidents and have taken several steps to strengthen safety management. These measures include appointing an independent third-party safety audit consultant and having members of the board of directors conduct random inspections at construction sites."

The group has also submitted a safety improvement report as required by the Buildings Department.

However, concerns have been raised by lawmakers regarding construction site safety and the potential trade-off between expediting public housing construction and ensuring safety.

Scott Leung Man-kwong, a member of the Legislative Council's housing panel, said: "Neglecting site safety for the sake of speeding up construction could lead to accidents and work suspensions, causing disruptions in progress."

Another subsidiary of Great Harvest, Aggressive Construction Engineering Limited, was removed from the registry of general building contractors in November 2022 following a construction accident that led to a worker's death.

The Buildings Department has said that in cases where a contractor applying for license renewal is involved in a fatal construction accident, interviews and assessments will be conducted and the application will be carefully considered regardless of any convictions.