GOVERNOR Chris Patten yesterday rejected suggestions that the controversial airport railway be built bit by bit.
Legislators have said this could allow the link to be ready by 1997 without an immediate overall financial agreement with China on the airport.
Speaking during question time with legislators yesterday, Mr Patten said it would not be justified, in terms of the transport needs, to build only the Tsing Yi-Central section of the $33.5 billion railway.
''We don't believe that there is a transport justification for doing small bits of the railway,'' he said. ''And we don't believe that we could justify just investing in the Tsing Yi-Central part of the airport railway on the grounds that it would have an impact on the Nathan Road Corridor.'' But he added that he would reconsider the Government's position if legislators could provide new evidence that the proposal was economically sound.
He also asked China again to state precisely what kind of financial arrangements they would regard as acceptable.
United Democrat legislator Lee Wing-tat said he was confident that the Government would reconsider the option.
