11 September 2020
Despite Hong Kong not instituting a lockdown to anywhere near the same extent as other major hubs in the Asia Pacific region, during the past six months the construction industry in Hong Kong has been heavily affected as a consequence of COVID-19.
Some examples of how projects have been impacted include:
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Construction sites, as well as clients’ and consultants’ offices, have occasionally been closed as a result of a worker or workers having been infected with COVID-19. As a result, the site or office has been closed for at least 14 days;
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The procurement of materials, plant and equipment has been delayed due to the part or complete closure of factories and manufacturing plants (especially in Mainland China);
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The delivery and shipment of materials, plant and equipment from outside of Hong Kong has been delayed due to various restrictions on transportation, flights and shipping;
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Staff, labour and workers sourced from outside of Hong Kong, especially from Mainland China, have not be been able to get into Hong Kong to work, or if they have managed to enter Hong Kong, they have had to go into quarantine for 14 days;
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The working methods and sequences on the site have had to be changed due to the introduction of social distancing rules and the need to be kept apart and in small groups; and
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Many of the day-to-day site operations have been disrupted due to the need to implement the various measures imposed by Government Authorities such as temperature checks, social distancing, regular cleaning of hands, disinfecting of tools and equipment and wearing masks/goggles/gloves.
These examples of the effect of COVID-19 will have resulted in delays and disruption to the regular progress of the works on construction projects in Hong Kong. As such, they should be the subject of notification under your contract.
For further information, please contact:
Clive Holloway, Senior Director, FTI Consulting
clive.holloway@fticonsulting.com
