PHILA.SIU@SCMP.COM
PUBLISHED : Monday, 30 November, 2015, 6:45pm
UPDATED : Monday, 30 November, 2015, 6:48pm
The MTRC and the government have reached an agreement on the cost overrun for the high-speed link. Photo: Felix Wong
The Mass Transit Railway Corporation and its majority shareholder, the Hong Kong government, have agreed on a proposal that would effectively mean the rail operator would pay the cost overrun for the controversial high-speed rail link to Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
The government announced today that the latest cost estimate for the project is HK$84.4 billion, up HK$19.6 billion from the original estimate.
It is expected to be completed behind schedule - in the third quarter of 2018.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said the government would ask the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee for extra funding to pay the extra cost.
However, the MTRC has agreed that, if lawmakers approve the funding, it would pay HK$19.5 billion in special dividends to the government.
This would effectively mean that the MTRC would be covering the cost overrun.
However, MTRC chairman Raymond Chien Kuo-fung denied that the rail operator was footing the bill, insisting that it was merely paying a special dividend to its major shareholder.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1885271/hong-kong-rail-operator-effectively-foot-extra-bill-guangzhou
