The Government yesterday pledged to seek ways to lower the cost of the proposed $4 billion exhibition centre at the Chek Lap Kok airport site as lawmakers maintained the cost was too high.
The Finance Committee last month blocked funding after members questioned the financial viability of the project.
According to the submission to yesterday's commerce and industry panel, the estimated cost per square metre is 13 per cent lower than the Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.
Democrat Cheung Man-kwong asked if the cost could be further reduced. He said the Wan Chai centre had cost more because it had to be completed before the 1997 handover.
'There is no such urgency for the new centre. Also, the construction cost has dropped significantly. Why is the cost only 13 per cent lower than the existing exhibition centre?' he asked.
Director-General of Investment Promotion Mike Rowse admitted the cost of the new centre was still too high and promised to work towards reducing it.
