A long-standing construction firm, Paul Y. Engineering Group, on Friday had its provisional liquidation application approved by the court.

The High Court has now appointed a provisional liquidator for Paul Y's five subsidiaries to handle debts and formulate a restructuring plan.

The government said while the 78-year-old company is undertaking a number of public works projects, the impact of the formerly-listed firm's situation should be manageable.

In a statement, the government said the company is currently working on 13 public works projects -- all but one of them were undertaken by way of joint venture with other construction companies.

Paul Y is also responsible for a number of projects for other public organisations.

"As the majority of the contracts are undertaken by joint ventures, regardless of whether Paul Y is liquidated eventually, the other participants of the joint venture contracts must complete the remaining works in accordance with the contract requirements," authorities said.

Some public sector owners, the government noted, have already replaced the main contractor of projects, for which the indebted firm was the sole undertaker.

A spokesperson added that the administration has been paying close attention and taking measures to lower the impact on relevant projects and subcontractors, while helping affected workers.

Paul Y had built numerous public and private housing projects, as well as landmark buildings such as The Center and the Hong Kong Club Building in Central.