Lawmakers blast MTR Corp officials over express rail line's delay
Lawmakers say they will launch an investigation into the delay in completing the high-speed cross-border railway if the administration and the MTR fail to explain the situation in detail within two weeks.
Lawmakers say they will launch an investigation into the delay in completing the high-speed cross-border railway if the administration and the MTR fail to explain the situation in detail within two weeks.
Democratic Party lawmaker Wu Chi-wai said he would invoke the Legislative Council Powers and Privileges Ordinance if the administration and the MTR did not submit documents tracking the progress of the project. Gary Fan Kwok-wai of the NeoDemocrats said he had similar plans.
The ordinance empowers Legco to launch investigations into matters of public concern, summon witnesses and request the inspection of documents relating to an inquiry.
The MTR said on Tuesday that the opening of the HK$67 billion railway would be delayed by two years to 2017. It cited a tunnel-boring machine damaged by flooding together with excavation difficulties at the West Kowloon terminus and the cross-border section as the main reasons for the delay.
Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung and Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying urged the MTR to submit a report on the issue by May 2, when the Legco railway committee next meets. The request came during a meeting with MTR chairman Raymond Chien Kuo-fung and chief executive Jay Walder yesterday.