‘Get Kai Tak sports complex right or you lose HK$1 billion’
Government supporter says penalty proposal is a strategy to win lawmakers’ support for the project
Whoever wins the bid to build and operate a sports complex at the site of the former Kai Tak airport will face a HK$1 billion penalty if it fails to meet expectations, according to a pro-government lawmaker.
The idea was to quicken the approval process for the project in the Legislative Council, said Lau Kwok-fan, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.
Lau revealed on Wednesday that a representative from the Home Affairs Bureau suggested increasing the penalty from the original HK$150 million. The money would be forfeited if the contractor failed to deliver the Kai Tak Sports Park on time or did not operate it according to set standards.
“We were originally worried that under a deal to design, build and operate [the sports park], a contractor would have already pocketed a sum after construction. So would it continue to have the incentive to run it well?” Lau said.
“Increasing [the penalty] to HK$1 billion would increase the risk to the contractor. If it doesn’t operate [the park] well, the government could decide to end its contract and confiscate the HK$1 billion guarantee.”