Govt looking for more places to house imported workers
The government said it's looking to build more dormitories for imported construction workers, as it expects a makeshift facility in Yuen Long to be full by the middle of next year.  The comment came after authorities approved some 12,000 workers to come in Hong Kong in phases under the Labor Importation Scheme for the Construction Sector. Development secretary Bernadette Linn said she expects the 7,000 places at the dormitory in Tam Mei – which opened around two weeks ago – to be full in a few months.  "We're trying to identify another slot in the New Territories. We'll see if we can make good use of the existing mobile-cabin hospitals, to repurpose those facilities to meet the need of workers if the slots at Tam Mei fill up," she told a Legislative Council meeting. Linn added that officials will keep in close touch with the industry, as some contractors are looking to house their imported workers on the mainland.  Responding to real estate and construction sector lawmaker Louis Loong's call to relax the importation criteria so that non-local workers can be hired for private developments, Linn said the scheme is tilted towards public projects.