Transcript of remarks by SDEV at media session

Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, at a media session after attending the Legislative Council meeting today (July 5):
 
Reporter: Do you think the mandatory repair notice is not enough, and the Buildings Department failed to deal with the problem despite knowing the problem, so what will be the timeline for the inspection task work you just mentioned to do follow-up actions?
 
Secretary for Development: The Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme serves a particular purpose. It is targeted at all buildings aged 30 years and above. With the notices, the owners are obliged under law to do an inspection and do follow-up remedial works. I think the Scheme has its significance and its effectiveness, but there are lots of cases because of the building ageing problem in Hong Kong, so the Buildings Department has always been looking at these cases with prioritisation, focusing on those with serious hazards first, because as we all know, even though buildings are aged 30 and above, and are subject to such notices, many are actually still in good condition, but the Buildings Department will have to look at the individual reports and prioritise, and look at those with more imminent hazards. So the task that I have given to the Director of Buildings is that she should take stock of all the buildings with outstanding inspection notices and do a follow-up inspection, and see which are the cases warranting priority action by the Department in terms of issuing enforcement notices, and also in terms of the Department taking over some of the works as a matter of urgency, and asking for reimbursement from the owners at a later stage. So I hope the Buildings Department will take stock and let me have a suggested timeframe in the near term and we will account for the timeframe given in due course.
 
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
 
Ends/Wednesday, July 5, 2023
Issued at HKT 15:10
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