NewCover-up or mismanagement? Lawmaker urges MTR to come clean over rail delay
MTR faces mounting pressure to ‘come clean’ on HK$67b project’s problems
The MTR Corporation is today facing mounting pressure from lawmakers to come clean on how much it knew about the huge rock formation which delayed the completion of the cross-border high-speed railway project.
Michael Tien Puk-sun, who chairs the Legislative Council’s rail subcommittee, said today that the timing of precisely when the MTR became aware of the granite formation was crucial and could point to a “cover up”.
The latest questions arose after the Chinese-language Apple Daily today published two consultancy documents dated 2009 and 2010, suggesting the MTR could have known about the problem in as early as four years ago.
The newspaper said the documents – including a report on geological conditions and a map showing positions of drilling tests – showed hard granite rocks were found between 15 and 30 metres below the ground level on some locations.
If accurate, the documents contradict an explanation given by MTR chiefs on Monday on the HK$67 billion project’s two-year delay – from 2015 to 2017 – that the granite was “unpredictable”. The rail link, which will connect Hong Kong and Guangzhou, is costing HK$2.6 billion for each of its 26 kilometres.
“It does not necessarily amount to a cover-up if MTR has known about the granite’s existence in 2010. But the question is if [the management] knew about its complexity and impact to the construction.” the New People’s Party lawmaker said today.
“It could have been a cover-up or mismanagement. The timing is crucial,” said Tien. “They have to come clean on the issue on the subcommittee meeting on May 5.”