Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho has pledged a comprehensive public report on the recent lift malfunction issues at Queen Mary Hospital, while refraining from confirming whether the newly introduced Heads of Departments Accountability System will be applied in this case.

The announcement comes nearly two weeks after Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu instructed the Development Bureau to deliver a detailed investigation report within one month concerning the defective lift installations at the hospital’s new 34-storey clinical block. Out of 28 lifts, 24 were deemed unfit for use, significantly delaying the full commissioning of the HK$13.5 billion facility.

Speaking on a television program, Linn outlined that the forthcoming report would clarify when and why the defects occurred and why these issues had not been previously identified or rectified. “All of this will be detailed in the coming report we will submit to the chief executive, which will subsequently be disclosed to the public as well,” she said.

Although the Development Bureau was not originally involved in the Queen Mary Hospital project, Linn stressed that the bureau has now launched a review and investigation to determine whether the departments under its oversight fulfilled their responsibilities throughout the project stages. She noted the first phase of this follow-up effort was already underway.

Sources familiar with the matter previously indicated that Tsudy I Li Pak-yee, chief project manager for the Architectural Services Department overseeing the project, had been asked to resign amid the controversy. However, the department denied a forced resignation, clarifying that Li departed voluntarily for personal reasons after providing three months’ notice.

The discovery of widespread installation defects last month has raised serious questions about oversight and accountability within the civil service, as the delay could push back the hospital block’s opening by up to a year.

In a separate matter, Linn addressed the government’s decision not to appeal a court ruling that overturned environmental approval for a housing project proposed on part of a reclaimed golf course in Fanling. The Court of Appeal had upheld a lower court decision last month to invalidate the project’s environmental impact assessment (EIA), which would have permitted the development of approximately 12,000 public housing units on 32 hectares of land.

Linn emphasized the need for a thorough reassessment of the site’s environmental and developmental implications before establishing the future direction for the project. “We need to carefully re-examine what further assessments we need to conduct, how the timeline for pushing this project forward will be affected, and how its overall scale will be impacted,” she said.

The government is currently reviewing the situation, given the absence of a valid EIA report, which is critical to determining the viability and scope of the public housing initiative on the former golf course site.