The Year of the Dragon in review

1st February 2025

The Year of the Dragon in review

As we enter the Year of the Snake, we take a look back at the Year of the Dragon which has been another busy year at Contract Dispute Consultants.

Hong Kong’s construction scene has been incredibly busy with some major projects reaching significant milestones. In particular, the third runway project at Hong Kong airport is continuing apace with the central runway becoming operational on 28 November 2024.

Commencement of Three Runway Operations (c) Hong Kong Airport Authority

The commencement of three runway operations is timely given that passenger numbers grew 18% year on year and hit 53.1 million (about 75% of pre-pandemic levels). Meanwhile, cargo traffic 4.9 million tonnes making Hong Kong the world’s busiest cargo airport for the 13th time since 2010.

MTR projects are also ramping up with the Tung Chung line and Tuen Mun projectsprogressing. However, the tendering and contract award process for the Hung Shui Kiu and Airport Tunnel Overrun schemes appears to have been somewhat delayed.

Contract Dispute Consultants new office address

Another significant project reaching completion is the Kai Tak Sports Park. The stadium is in the final commissioning stage getting ready to host the Hong Kong Sevens rugby tournament and Coldplay a few weeks later.

New Staff

As industry demand remained high, we continued to expand the CDC team, welcoming Michelle Chong to the team as consultant. Michelle comes from an E&M background and had previously worked with a major contractor on a significant airport project. We welcome Michelle and look forward to her further development with the Contract Dispute team. As we move into the Year of the Snake we’ll be looking to further expand the team.

Ongoing and New Projects

Work continued on long term commissions on West Kowloon Cultural Development, Third Runway related projects at Hong Kong International Airport and US based infrastructure assignments (covering projects in the states of New York, Washington, North Carolina, Kansas, Texas and Virginia). CDC were also engaged on enabling projects related to the Northern Metropolis megaproject, commenced work on a large hospital project and undertook a small commission in Singapore. CDC worked on several ongoing and new major commissions for contractors engaged on infrastructure projects under both NEC3 and NEC4.

West Kowloon Cultural District

Security of Payment Legislation and Adjudication

Another major reform for the construction industry has now arrived. After 20 years of discussion, the Construction Industry Security of Payment Bill was finally approvedin December. With the introduction of statutory adjudication this legislation is likely to change the landscape of construction in Hong Kong and help contracting stakeholders at all levels gain greater control over cashflow. The bill will come into effect in August 2025. However, there is still much work to do with regards to educating the industry and training adjudicators with the adjudication regime likely to change the way contractors and clients engage with each other.

Christmas Dinner

2024 was closed out with our annual Christmas dinner with staff and family members at The Whale Club in Central.

We wish all of our clients, colleagues and friends happiness and prosperity in the Year of the Snake. Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Contract Dispute Consultants HK Limited

CDCHK are Hong Kong’s leading claims and contractual consultancy providing support to first tier contractors working on complex infrastructure and building projects worldwide. Recent assignments have included advising contractors on NEC3 and NEC4 projects involving metro, tunnels and water works. Other assignments have included rail projects in Canada and Hong Kong, cable stayed bridges in the United States, Canada and Hong Kong, power projects in the UK and airport projects.