New council to take over URA's role in building upkeep

Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Friday said the government would set up a new council by the end of the year to help homeowners through the full cycle of building repairs – offering a paid service to handle tendering and evaluation on their behalf. Her announcement came after the independent committee investigating the Wang Fuk Court fire called, in its report, for enhanced support services that would be run by a new operator with a clearer, more interventionist mandate. Speaking a day after the report’s release, Linn said the new Building Maintenance Support and Services Council would be a non-statutory body and take over, in phases, building-upkeep subsidy schemes presently being run by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA). Unlike the URA's Smart Tender platform, which helps owners solicit bids but does not assess them, the council will arrange for tenders and evaluate them for owners and recommend up to three suitable bids. Owners using government maintenance subsidies must choose from those recommended bids. The council will also assign pre-engaged inspection consultants instead of requiring a fresh tender for each inspection, help appoint supervision consultants and contractors, monitor the supervision consultant during works, and give owners independent advice if contractors propose major scope or cost...