Saturday, April 1, 2000
Scandal-linked firm in Disney bid
STELLA LEE
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The contractor at the centre of the Sha Tin piling scandal has emerged as a
frontrunner in the bidding for a multibillion-dollar contract to carry out
the reclamation for the Disneyland theme park.
The disclosure triggered concern from legislators' over why the contractor
was allowed to bid while it remained suspended from carrying out any
Housing Department project in the wake of the piling scandal.
Zen Pacific Civil Contractors and sister firm Wai Kee (Zens) Construction
and Transportation are among the four-member BHC Consortium which submitted
a $3.86 billion bid for the reclamation and port works at Penny's Bay,
Lantau Island.
Zen Pacific's group business development manager, John Champion, said he
believed the bid was the lowest among the seven submissions for the
reclamation contract, which is expected to be awarded by the end of this
month.
He also said that the company took a voluntary decision to be suspended
from Housing Department piling projects during the investigation.
The latest issue of the construction industry magazine, Asian
Infrastructure Monthly, also names Zen Pacific's consortium as the
frontrunner for the contract, with the other bids ranging from $3.97
billion to $4.57 billion. The successful consortium will be responsible for
reclamation and marine works to form a 290-hectare site, part of which will
be used for the Disney theme park.
Zen Pacific is still being investigated over the piling scandal at Home
Ownership Scheme housing blocks in Yuen Chau Kok, Sha Tin, where the
foundation piles were not sunk deep enough.
Two blocks will have to be demolished at a cost of $250 million.
Zen Pacific took out an advertisement on Monday in newspapers claiming that
it was a victim of large-scale organised fraud in the piling scandal.
Mr Champion said it held only a 12.5 per cent share of the consortium
bidding for the Penny's Bay reclamation contract while Wai Kee held 25 per
cent. He said Zen Pacific would only be responsible for the land works and
no piling works would be involved if it was awarded the contract.
Dredging International, which holds 50 per cent of the consortium shares,
will carry out the reclamation work.
The remaining consortium partner, China International Water and Electric
Corporation, holds 12.5 per cent of the shares.
Democratic Party legislator Lee Wing-tat said Zen Pacific should be
excluded.
"What's the use of disciplinary action if it is allowed to bid for jobs
with the Works Bureau . . .?"
The Frontier's Emily Lau Wai-hing said officials should wait for the result
of the independent investigation into the piling scandal before deciding on
the reclamation contract.
A Works Bureau spokesman said last night its contractors' list differed
from the Housing Authority's.
He said it would take note of information from the authority.
"Until we remove a contractor from our list, there are no grounds for us to
stop it from bidding.
"Allowing the bidding and awarding the contract are two different matters."
Both the spokesman and Civil Engineering Department senior engineer Li
Yuen-wing declined to comment on individual bids.
