Hong Kong suspends contractor from public tenders after fatal accident

The contractor must conduct an independent safety audit.

Hong Kong’s Development Bureau (DEVB) has suspended a contractor from bidding for public contracts following a fatal incident on a construction site in Tai Po.

The suspension from tendering is not only confined to tender exercises within the period of suspension from tendering but is also applicable to tender exercises with procedures initiated but not concluded, according to a government announcement on 2 October 2025.

The contractor is required to conduct an independent safety audit to review its safety management system. Based on this, the contractor will submit an improvement action plan and implement improvement measures.

The contractor will have to demonstrate that it has an effective safety management system before officials will consider lifting the suspension.

The Labour Department is investigating this industrial incident.

The DEVB said that it may impose further regulating actions on the contractor concerned later on, including extension of the period of suspension from tendering for public works contracts and even removal from the list of approved contractors for public works.