Hong Kong No 2 official Matthew Cheung dismisses calls to invoke Legco special powers over latest Sha Tin-Central link problems
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Hong Kong’s No 2 official has dismissed a plan by opposition lawmakers to invoke legislative special powers to investigate the construction scandal plaguing the city’s most costly rail project.
“This would only lead to duplication and redundancy, and is not very meaningful,” Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said on Saturday.
The scandal deepened this week after it emerged that the main contractor had failed to submit more than 60 per cent of inspection documents for work at the troubled Hung Hom station on the HK$97.1 billion (US$12.4 billion) Sha Tin-Central link.
The MTR Corporation, the city’s rail operator, drew more fire on Friday with the suggestion that its on-site managers let Leighton Contractors (Asia) carry on with work without proper papers because they were in a rush to get the job done.
Opposition lawmaker Tanya Chan, from the Civic Party, then stated she would move a motion to invoke the Legislative Council’s special powers to investigate the scandal. Should the motion be passed, lawmakers could summon witnesses and demand evidence from the parties involved.
Cheung, speaking on a radio programme on Saturday, said there was no way the MTR Corp could shift the blame. He added that the government, the largest stakeholder in the rail giant, had been serious in following up on the issue.