HK-mainland express rail faces new delays
Updated: 2015-06-27 08:14
By Timothy Chuiin Hong Kong(HK Edition)
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Tien says problems with the canopy of the terminus may be to blame
The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link faces further delays and budget overruns, although work on the tunnels feeding Hong Kong's 15-platform terminus for the multibillion-dollar project has already been completed.
Michael Tien Puk-sun, who chairs the Legislative Council's (LegCo) transport panel, warned on Friday that delays could be caused by problems relating to part of the West Kowloon Terminus' dramatic curved steel and glass-roof canopy.
Quoting sources, he said the canopy could not withstand typhoon-force winds and rectifications might be needed.
Contractors responsible for the construction of the roof may file a lawsuit against the designers - global architecture firm Aedas and engineering firm AECOM.
Tien pointed the finger at MTR Corporation's management, accusing senior executives of turning a blind eye to attempts by the contractors to seek remedy.
The corporation, which Tien once headed, says the glass-and-steel canopy meets design specifications, and had been approved by the government.
The MTR board held a closed door meeting on Friday to discuss possible cost overruns. It will submit a report to the government early next week, Chief Executive Officer Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen said.
Independent non-executive directors, including lawmakers Abraham Shek Lai-him, Ng Leung-sing and Vincent Fang Kang, who also attended the meeting, were tight-lipped over what was discussed, while the government's four representatives on the MTR board stayed away.
The Hong Kong-mainland express rail link - one of the world's most expensive infrastructure projects - was initially slated to cost HK$66 billion and is meant to strengthen the SAR's position as the transport hub in southern China.
It was originally scheduled to have been completed this month, but was pushed back to late 2017, while its price tag was revised to HK$71.5 billion after MTR Corp was found to have kept the government in the dark about the delay.
Chan Han-pan, chairman of the LegCo subcommittee on railways, said he was not optimistic about the project meeting its latest completion date. Tien said the final cost could exceed HK$90 billion.
Work on the Hong Kong terminus has already been delayed by unforeseen excavation issues, while safety concerns over the roof vaulting over the world's biggest underground terminus have been raised.
Tien said the public coffers and MTR Corp, in which the government holds a majority stake, could share cost overruns in the event of natural disasters causing delays. For example, when tunnel boring machines become water logged during a rainstorm.
But, the corporation should shoulder the extra costs arising from poor management, he said.
tim@chinadailyhk.com
(HK Edition 06/27/2015 page6)