A 225kg (500lb) bomb was discovered at around 10am on Monday on a construction site on Pokfulam Road near Middleton Towers, a dormitory for the staff at the University of Hong Kong.
Police sealed off the area within a 400 metre radius and evacuated at least 30 construction workers and 59 residents at Middleton Towers, Apple Daily reported.
“This morning, our workers doing excavation work found a bomb… we’re not scared as we have confidence in Hong Kong police,” WK Szeto, the project site manager, told HKFP.
The Towers consist of 72 units and are home to staff of the University of Hong Kong and their family members.
Police said that the bomb, measuring one by one and a half metres, was manufactured in the United States.
Some residents were sent to the Lei Tung Community Hall. Bus stops along Pokfulam Road were suspended.
Agents from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Bureau are studying whether to conduct a controlled explosion or move the bomb to another location.
Bus stops were suspended in the area as police closed a traffic lane.