Cost overrun for Hong Kong’s Sha Tin-Central MTR Link could be HK$16 billion, lawmaker says

Lawmaker Michael Tien Puk-sun said on Monday that it would be “barely acceptable” for the Sha Tin to Central rail link project cost to increase by about HK$15 billion (US$1.92 billion) even as he highlighted the challenges and setbacks faced in project construction.

The rail link, originally meant to cost HK$79.8 billion, is funded by the government, with the city’s MTR Corporation doing construction, testing and commissioning.

But Tien, chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Transport, believed the cost overrun for the Sha Tin to Central rail link might end up being HK$16 to HK$17 billion, bringing the project’s final cost to about HK$96 to HK$97 billion.

The government will need to seek approval from the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee to cover the extra cost, with MTR set to reveal the additional amount it requires “before or after Christmas”, chairman Fred Ma Si-hang said last week.

Tien acknowledged that most taxpayers would feel that HK$15 billion was an “astronomical figure”. But he explained that the cost projections for the seven-year project had been made before tenders for project works were called.