Costly railway plan sets off alarm bells
Hong Kong's government is synonymous with impressive infrastructure projects. Among those being built or on the drawing board are the West Kowloon Cultural District, the bridge to Macau, the Central to Wan Chai bypass and redevelopment of the Kai Tak airport site. The reasoning for such schemes is simple enough: projecting our city's image, creating jobs and expanding the economy. All these, plus integration with the mainland, tap into the construction of a high-speed rail line to the border to link up with a section running from suburban Guangzhou.
Making travel between Hong Kong and the mainland faster is in the interests of people on both sides of the border. The line would also link up with the wider-gauge, national high-speed network. But the project has nonetheless rightly raised concern.
The Hong Kong side of the line will, kilometre by kilometre, be the most expensive of its type in the world based on the present estimate of HK$39.5 billion - which is expected to increase, perhaps by as much as 50 per cent. Authorities have also been less than transparent about the scheme.
For the investment, we will get a terminus in West Kowloon and 26 kilometres of track. The high cost is down to most of the project being underground. Planners say that this is necessary because of Hong Kong's urban circumstances; too many buildings are in the way of the proposed line, and a railway station in the midst of the planned West Kowloon Cultural District would be unsightly. The Guangdong side of the line will be above ground.
The government originally promoted the project as a means of dramatically cutting travel time to Guangzhou. When the route was revealed, this proved not to be the case. As the last station will be at Shibi, in the city's Panyu district, the time difference with the present through train will be minimal: the business district is 18 stops away on Guangzhou's metro line. Traversing the 140,000 square metre terminus to transfer to other transport will also presumably be time-consuming.
Authorities have not been forthcoming with crucial details. Plans for the terminus have yet to be made public, even though it appears to account for half the cost. No indication has been given of the anticipated ticket price, or how long it will take for the project to break even. The operating cost has not been revealed. There has been no word on how the line will connect to the existing transport infrastructure.
The express rail link is among projects Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen unveiled as a means for Hong Kong to get out of recession. They will create jobs and move the economy forward. Some - the line among them - will further integration with the mainland. There is no doubt about the immediate benefits.
Hong Kong's built-up environment, geography and geology ensure that construction projects, big and small, are expensive. Given this, the government has to ensure that what it undertakes with public funding is good for Hong Kong. Plans have to have community backing. Public consultation and transparency are of the utmost importance.
The red tape that stymies large-scale infrastructure projects elsewhere in the world does not apply here. Years, not decades, lapse between conception and construction. Such ease demands that projects be thoroughly thought through. They must not be wasteful. Most importantly, they have to provide value for money.
