THE Government is likely to extend the validity of the contract for the Central and Wan Chai reclamation project for a third time beyond the present March 8 deadline, pending Chinese approval.
Any further extension would be granted at the risk of the project falling behind schedule. The original completion date for the reclamation was mid-1997.
A contractor said he expected the Government would soon seek his opinion on a further extension on the tender's validity. But he had no idea on the length of the extension.
Noting that the Government had asked contractors to accelerate works in the light of a delay in the starting date of the project, he said it was difficult to give an exact date beyond which the reclamation works could not be completed by mid-1997.
The increase in project cost would depend on the conditions of the contract, he said.
The 21-hectare site will provide land for commercial buildings as well as the Central terminus of the airport railway.
A government official said no decision had been made on whether to further extend the validity of the contract.