Hong Kong authorities have suspended part of the construction work on a light public housing project after discovering irregularities in some bolts, ordering the contractor to investigate and fix the problem.

The Housing Bureau said on Friday that it found 23 construction bolts had been cut without permission on the fourth and fifth floors of a temporary public housing project in Siu Lam.

A regular inspection by the Architectural Services Department on August 30 had discovered the problem, the bureau added.

The bolts are part of a bracket attached to the concrete wall of the temporary housing, which adopts the “modular integrated construction” (MiC) technique.

This method employs free-standing, integrated modules from a mainland Chinese factory that undergo quality inspections before being installed at the project site.

“The department has immediately requested the contractor, Able-Chun Wo Joint Venture, to suspend the related bracket installation procedures, while the other construction works are proceeding as usual,” the bureau’s spokeswoman said.

“The department is highly concerned about the quality and safety of the project. It has immediately and sternly instructed the contractor to reinstall the affected brackets and replace the relevant MiC components.”