Fire station, ambulance depot and staff quarters, Tsueng Kwan O, Hong Kong

NEC has been used to procure a 17 storey emergency services building with staff quarters in Hong Kong featuring modular integrated construction. The project won the Sustainability and Climate Resilience Award in the 2023 NEC Martin Barnes Awards.

The HK$584 million (£56 million) fire station, ambulance depot and departmental quarters at Chui Shin Street in Tsueng Kwan O was delivered on time and budget in August 2025 by the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China using an NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) Option B (priced contract with bill of quantities).

The project involved building a reinforced concrete five-storey fire station and ambulance depot structure on piled foundations, above which was a 12-storey residential structure built mostly from 648 prefabricated reinforced concrete modules. Joined together, these created 132 apartments of 50 m² for staff from the Fire Services Department and other departments. The project also included an eight-storey drill tower and automated parking system. 

Contractor Dragages Hong Kong started work in May 2022 with ArchSD as the NEC project manager and DLN Architects as the NEC supervisor. The designers were DLN Architects, Wong & Ouyang and P&T (M&E), and the quantity surveyor was Northcroft Hong Kong. 

Building on success

The Chui Shin Street project builds on ArchSD’s first successful use of modular integrated construction for departmental quarter buildings at nearby Pak Shing Kok Road. ArchSD delivered 648 apartments for Government staff and their families in five tower blocks in 2021 using 3,726 reinforced concrete modules under an NEC3 ECC Option A (priced contract with activity schedule) (see case study).

ArchSD senior project manager Ray Lee says the project team’s aim was to promote and expand the use of modular integrated construction and design for manufacture and assembly for public buildings in Hong Kong. ‘This approach maximises construction quality by shortening the construction period, providing a safe working environment and enhancing quality control.’

He says NEC facilitates such projects by encouraging proactive collaboration and communication between the project management team and contractor. ‘This helps to ensure successful project delivery while minimising risks and disputes. Through proper use of a Z clause we can also protect the contractor’s intellectual property rights for the modular integrated construction system’.

Lee says NEC3 ECC Option B was used in this case because the scope of works was well defined and a firm bill of quantities was available at the time of the tender invitation. ‘Option B enhanced the certainty of the price of the project at an early stage, which is particularly important given the intricate nature of emergency services infrastructure, where timely delivery and budget adherence are critical.’

Managing risks

Dragages site agent Phyllis Chen says the NEC early warning mechanism enabled proactive risk management. ‘It required both the contractor and project management team to notify each other of potential issues that could negatively affect the project, allowing measures to be quickly implemented and followed up.’ 

She says regular risk reduction meetings were held between the contractor and project management team to review the status of events listed in the early warnings, ensuring all identified issues were adequately and promptly addressed. ‘The adoption of early warnings also helped in tracking project risks and preventing them from escalating, ensuring the project remained on programme.’

Chen concludes, ‘Through the “spirit of mutual trust and co-operation” encouraged in NEC, the parties achieved a common goal – the sustainability and climate resilience of the whole life cycle of the project. Overall, the NEC approach has not only facilitated the smooth progression of the project but has also set a precedent for enhancing public safety infrastructure.’

Benefits of using NEC

• NEC facilitated modular integrated construction by encouraging collaboration and communication between the project management team and contractor.
• ECC Option B enhanced the certainty of the price of the project at an early stage and helped to ensure it stayed within budget. 
• NEC early warning process helped in tracking project risks and preventing them from escalating, ensuring the project was delivered on time.

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