Hong Kong MTR to revamp top management as chief executive Lincoln Leong and others to leave over Sha Tin-Central rail link scandals
Chief executive Lincoln Leong to retire earlier while project director Philco Wong and three other general managers resign with immediate effect
Hong Kong’s rail operator has overhauled its top management team, with four immediate resignations and the early departure of its CEO next, after the government demanded heads roll for the scandals plaguing the Sha Tin-Central rail link, the city’s most expensive rail project.
The government – which owns 75 per cent of the MTR Corporation – said on Tuesday it had asked police to investigate “huge discrepancies” and “conflicting reports” in the rail giant’s submissions on the HK$97.1 billion (US$12 billion) project.
Police said they were conducting a comprehensive criminal investigation.
MTR Corp chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang revealed that he had submitted his resignation on Monday – for a second time – “on the grounds of accountability,” but the government had asked him to stay on until a new CEO was in place in six to nine months.
Current CEO Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen, 58, who had just renewed his contract for two years in February, would quit earlier than expected once his successor was appointed, Ma said.
Projects director Philco Wong Nai-keung resigned with immediate effect, while three other general managers of the project – Lee Tsz-man, Jason Wong Chi-ching and Aidan Rooney – also left.