Rumours that design defect caused waste plant fire ‘groundless and entirely fictitious,’ gov’t says

Hong Kong’s environmental authorities have addressed “false rumours” that a fire that broke out at a waste incineration plant was caused by design defects and a collapsed incineration module.

The fire that broke out at the I·PARK1 waste management facility in Shek Kwu Chau, south of Lantau Island, on Monday is suspected to have originated from construction materials, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said in a Wednesday statement.

“It is preliminarily suspected that the fire originated from construction materials, rather than from the operation of the incinerator or the waste stored,” the department said, two days after the fire broke out at the plant.

“Preliminary information indicates that the fire originated at the roof of the incinerator building’s third incineration module area where finishing work was still in progress,” it said.

The I·PARK1 waste incinerator is Hong Kong’s first waste-to-energy plant. Its first module began trial operations in December 2025 and has a daily processing capacity of 1,000 tonnes.

The project is part of the city’s broader effort to reduce its reliance on landfills.

A social media post said that the incineration module had collapsed in the fire, although no proof was provided.

Rumours about design flaws could not immediately be found online by HKFP.

The government has ordered the works contractor for the waste management plant to submit an incident report on the fire within seven days from the day of the accident.

“Meanwhile, the EPD is evaluating the damage and the impact on the facility and its processing capacity, and will urge the contractor to conduct repairs as soon as possible,” the statement said.

Waste reception at the facility was suspended when the fire broke out. The department will resume reception as soon as possible, the statement said, “following a comprehensive examination of the facility’s structure and all critical systems, and upon confirming that it is suitable to restart the facility’s safe operation.”

“The EPD must state in the strongest terms that allegations circulated online about the ‘design defects of the incinerator’ and ‘collapse of incineration module under construction’ are groundless and entirely fictitious,” it said.

“The EPD urges the public not to be misled by these false messages and to stop sharing them.”

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James Lee is a reporter at Hong Kong Free Press with an interest in culture and social issues. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in English and a minor in Journalism from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he witnessed the institution’s transformation over the course of the 2019 extradition bill protests and after the passing of the Beijing-imposed security law.

Since joining HKFP in 2023, he has covered local politics, the city’s housing crisis, as well as landmark court cases including the 47 democrats national security trial. He was previously a reporter at The Standard where he interviewed pro-establishment heavyweights and extensively covered the Covid-19 pandemic and Hong Kong’s political overhauls under the national security law.