URA tells owners to avoid hiring lift company at centre of fire safety probe

Hong Kong’s Urban Renewal Authority has advised property owners under a subsidy scheme against hiring a contractor that failed to install fire safety components in lifts at hundreds of buildings, saying it had “lost confidence” in the company.

The move came a day after the government suspended the performance rating for Taizoom Elevator, which was found to have failed to install required fire-resistant door frame components at 338 buildings as inspections of its work across the city are carried out.

Industry professionals have urged the government to step up routine inspections of lifts and called on authorities to assist the management of buildings that had signed contracts with the company and had been waiting for work to begin.

“In view of the serious failures involved when Taizoom Elevator replaced lifts for multiple housing estates and buildings, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) has lost confidence in its services,” a spokesman said in a reply to the South China Morning Post on Friday.

“Therefore [the URA] does not recommend that property owners select Taizoom as the engineering contractor for the Lift Modernisation Subsidy Scheme.”

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department launched its inspections on October 15 after it was discovered the contractor had installed fire-resistant doors without the required frame components at two estates.

The components prevent flames and smoke from entering the lift shaft in the event of a fire.

The department has also ordered lift companies to check their installations going back a decade and submit reports.

The department said on Thursday that it had suspended the regular rating of the company’s performance due to “serious failures” of its lift installation works.

Lawmaker Christine Fong Kwok-shan called on the government to set up a statutory body to oversee building repairs and step up routine inspections

“The authority could act as an independent third party to monitor building maintenance and conduct spot checks to assist property owners,” Fong said.

Former lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon, a lawyer by training, said in a social media post on Thursday that she had noted concerns from property owners who had signed contracts with Taizoom but were still waiting for the work to begin.

Kong added that owners had lost confidence in the company and were questioning whether the URA and authorities would offer help.

Police arrested a Taizoom director and two registered lift engineers last Friday, a source said.

Hong Kong had 73,393 lifts as of February, according to official information.