--- description: Allegations of fake test data for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge have prompted an expert to warn that parts may have to be rebuilt. title: Safety Scandal Hits Massive Chinese Bridge Project image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cace17acf727287/6988cea3656a3f69c2bd0246/rtx36idw.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Hong Kong](/tag/hong-kong/) ## Hong Kong Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 21 People Arrested Over 'Fake Test Data' as Safety Scandal Hits Massive Chinese Bridge Project by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2017 8:39 AM CUT  A worker stands on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge under construction in Zhuhai, China on May 17, 2017. A worker stands on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge under construction in Zhuhai, China on May 17, 2017.James Pomfret—REUTERS by [Kevin Lui](/author/kevin-lui/) ## Kevin Lui Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 24, 2017 8:39 AM CUT The alleged falsification of concrete tests carried out on what will become the world’s longest bridge-tunnel complex, currently under construction in southern China, has prompted an expert to warn that parts of it may have to be [replaced entirely](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2095389/officers-arrest-21-over-faked-concrete-test-results-hong "undefined"). Wong Chak-yan, a former head of Hong Kong’s Institution of Engineers, told the _South China Morning Post_ on Tuesday, that parts of the 50 kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge would have to be replaced if the concrete was found to be substandard. “That would be the worst thing that could happen,” he said. His remarks come after the [arrest of 21 staff members](http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1331955-20170523.htm "undefined") from a firm contracted by the government to carry out tests on the concrete used for the structure, which, when completed, will consist of the [world’s longest continuous sea bridge](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/dec/15/worlds-longest-sea-bridge "undefined") at 38 kilometers, as well as associated tunnels, artificial islands and links. The _Post_ reports that the staff — two senior executives and 19 lab technicians — are suspected of replacing concrete samples with high-strength concrete, knowingly certifying reports based on falsified tests, and covering up the failure to conduct some of the tests within a required time frame. On Wednesday, the chairman of the Hong Kong legislature’s transport panel called for inspections to be carried out on [other infrastructural projects](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2095478/check-contractors-other-projects-transport-panel-head-urges "undefined") that have involved the same firm. The concrete scandal is the latest difficulty bedeviling the $10.6 billion project, which has been beset by [delays](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1680917/hong-kong-zhuhai-macau-bridge-now-unlikely-open-next-year "undefined"), [ballooning construction costs](https://www.google.com.hk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjupLmj0YfUAhUIKpQKHVIrBdQQFggzMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scmp.com%2Fnews%2Fhong-kong%2Farticle%2F1732272%2Fcost-bridge-hong-kong-macau-and-zhuhai-rise-amid-construction-delays&usg=AFQjCNGUGTjXOPf36SbgMTvqp5-RVRSTxg&sig2=Oh3OgabDe%5F8dIqmpXbykig "undefined") and other [engineering](http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1860898/seven-metre-drift-hong-kong-artificial-island-reclaimed-bridge "undefined") issues. Some critics in Hong Kong have also [seen](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-hongkong-bridge-idUSKCN18E38Q "undefined") the bridge as a instrument to further Beijing’s control over the wayward, semi-autonomous region. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4791857/hong-kong-sea-bridge-safety-tests-zhuhai-macau/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4791857/hong-kong-sea-bridge-safety-tests-zhuhai-macau/"},"headline":"21 People Arrested Over 'Fake Test Data' as Safety Scandal Hits Massive Chinese Bridge Project","datePublished":"2017-05-24T08:39:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T05:05:20.619Z","description":"Twenty-one people have been arrested on suspicion of falsifying concrete test data for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge","url":"https://time.com/4791857/hong-kong-sea-bridge-safety-tests-zhuhai-macau/","keywords":["Hong Kong","Hong Kong topic","China","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cace17acf727287/6988cea3656a3f69c2bd0246/rtx36idw.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kevin Lui","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kevin-lui/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5cace17acf727287/6988cea3656a3f69c2bd0246/rtx36idw.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A worker stands on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge under construction in Zhuhai","caption":"A worker stands on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge under construction in Zhuhai","creditText":"James Pomfret—REUTERS","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/hong-kong/","name":"Hong Kong"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4791857/hong-kong-sea-bridge-safety-tests-zhuhai-macau/","name":"21 People Arrested Over 'Fake Test Data' as Safety Scandal Hits Massive Chinese Bridge Project"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"China & North Korea: A (Complicated) Friendship","description":"Trump has called on China to get tough on the regime of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un following his latest nuclear tests. So how did China end up being allies with the hermit kingdom? TIME Asia Correspondent, Charlie Campbell, explains.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/NDayrMS9/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-05-11T12:42:04.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/NDayrMS9.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4791857/hong-kong-sea-bridge-safety-tests-zhuhai-macau/","duration":"PT2M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4791857/hong-kong-sea-bridge-safety-tests-zhuhai-macau/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```