It was a rosy picture - an end to lengthy queues at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, acceptable traffic flow at the other two crossings and perhaps even profits for the government.
Consultancy firm Wilbur Smith Associates yesterday reported on its two-year study to find a solution to the uneven traffic distribution among the three harbour crossings.
It said traffic could be more evenly dispersed if the toll for private cars was lifted by HK$5 for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and reduced for the Eastern Harbour Tunnel - with the government subsidising any losses.
It forecast the government could gain up to HK$280 million in extra profits annually - or in a worst-case scenario lose HK$25 million a year - depending on which of the consultant's nine proposals was adopted.
But people close to the New Hong Kong Tunnel Co, which operates the Eastern Harbour Tunnel, said the company was more likely to go ahead with its planned toll rise than agree to a subsidised toll reduction.
In the best-case scenario, a HK$5 toll rise for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel would divert just 4,300 vehicles - or 3.5 per cent of the 122,000 that use the crossing every day - to the Eastern Harbour Tunnel.
'I don't think [the extra users] are sufficient incentive for the board to give up on a toll rise,' one of the people said. 'It is a simple business decision - the company wants a fair return, regardless of whether it comes from the government or motorists.'