2014-08-12
HKT 15:33
A Professor in Civil Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, Hung Wing-tat, said on Tuesday that he believed the public will end up having to foot much of the extra cost of building the troubled Express Rail Link between Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
The MTR Corporation had earlier said that the project had run into construction problems and would be completed in 2017 instead of next year.
The Corporation announced on Monday that the estimated cost for for building the rail link would now be HK$71.5 billion which is above HK$67 billion in public funds the railway was granted in 2010 by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee.
The government said it may file a claim for general damages against the Corporation if it was found to have breached of its obligations.
But Professor Hung said the government was responsible for some of the contracts and it would be a "difficult mess" to sort out.
http://m.rthk.hk/news/20140812/1029112.htm
