Hong Kong lawmakers have given preliminary approval to provide 57.3 billion Hong Kong dollars (7.35 billion US dollars) to finance the construction of a 17-kilometre rail line, a media report said Saturday. The cash was approved despite complaints by some lawmakers that the project included 6.1 billion Hong Kong dollars in management fees to an existing urban rail operator to oversee the project, the South China Morning Post said.
Legislators questioned why MTR Corp would be paid the equivalent of 10.5 per cent of the line's construction cost to manage the scheme especially as the MTR Corp reported a 22-per-cent increase in net profit to 14.7 billion Hong Kong dollars for last year. The rail company is also seeking a 5.4-per-cent fare increase this year. "Why is 6.1 billion Hong Kong dollars needed merely for supervision of the works? Why can't the MTR bear some of the costs?" said legislator Ronny Tong.
Eva Cheng, secretary for transport and housing, said, "Most of the management fees would be wages paid to staff. Overall quality and progress of the project will be hampered if we cut the fee," she said. The line, which will have 10 stations and take 10 years to build, will run from the eastern New Territories into the urban area of Kowloon before going under Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island.
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