Cost of Sha Tin-Central rail link balloons to HK$87 billion, making it the most expensive rail project in Hong Kong history
Much-delayed project now expected to come in at HK$16.5 billion over budget
The cost of Hong Kong’s new rail link from Sha Tin to Central has ballooned to HK$87.32 billion (US$11.17 billion), making it the most expensive rail project in the city’s history, officials said on Tuesday.
The MTR Corporation’s 17km cross-harbour rail line is now expected to come in at HK$16.5 billion above its original HK$70.82 billion budget. The corporation had earlier given the cost of HK$79.8 billion, including preparatory work. That cost of that preparatory work was excluded from Tuesday’s announcement, meaning the actual cost could exceed HK$97 billion.
An MTR Corp source denied there was any miscalculation by the rail company regarding the overrun, which it said was caused by multiple factors.
“Engineers are not God. They can’t predict everything,” the source said. “The complexity of the underground work is not something that can be fully controlled.”
Construction of both the Sha Tin-Central link and the high-speed rail project is funded by the government and carried out by the MTR.
A Transport and Housing Bureau spokesman declined to comment on the latest cost estimate but stopped short of rallying behind the MTR – of which the government is the majority shareholder with a 75 per cent stake.
“The government reserves comment on the cost estimate submitted by MTR Corp at this stage. The Highways Department will ask MTR Corp to provide detailed information, and in collaboration with its monitoring and verification consultant, critically scrutinise … [and] see if there are sufficient justifications for the cost estimate,” the statement read.