HK$400m bill fails to derail university bidder
Government reveals private college bidders face infrastructure costs of HK$400 million amid claims it would now rather use land for housing
A Catholic group insisted it would press ahead with its bid to build a private university in Fanling as the government warned that basic infrastructure alone could cost HK$400 million.
The potential costs were revealed amid suggestions the government would prefer to ditch its plan to allocate land at Queen's Hill for a private university and build more housing instead.
A spokeswoman for the preparation task force of the Jesuit University Hong Kong said: "We will not withdraw and we are willing to pay for the infrastructure."
Reports that the government would rather reserve the 16-hectare former military camp for building flats began to emerge last month.
The threat of a U-turn in the middle of an expression of interest exercise that began in 2011 led some lawmakers to warn it would hurt the city's image as a centre of excellence for education.
A source familiar with the situation said yesterday that the government was now unlikely to scrap the tendering process after nine proposals for universities had already been examined by the Education Bureau.
However, the source added, the government had expected that the universities would withdraw their bids after it revealed the high cost of infrastructure, covering roads and utilities.
