The Construction Industry Council (CIC) on Thursday started providing contractors with newly procured fire-retardant scaffolding nets that meet safety requirements introduced in light of last year's deadly Tai Po blaze.

Executive director Albert Cheng said the council has bought around 50,000 sheets of netting for 418 building projects affected by an order to remove previous nets.

The first batch of 3,000 new nets arrived in Hong Kong on January 8, and underwent a second round of testing to ensure compliance with a mainland fire safety standard. The nets were being given to 11 contractors.

Cheng said the testing protocol involves three stages: checks by the manufacturer, independent laboratory testing upon delivery in Hong Kong, and random inspections by the Buildings Department after installation.

Each net costs around HK$170, compared to about HK$100 in the past.

“The increase in price basically is because of the requirement in the stage two testing, because we need to take samples, quite a large number of samples, to carry out the laboratory testing,” Cheng said.

He suggested contractors verify the reliability of suppliers and request official testing reports before purchase.

The council also plans to compile and publish a list of approved and reputable manufacturers to help contractors source certified fire-retardant nets.