Funding request for Hong Kong high-speed railway still stuck in the sidings as lawmakers bicker

With no end in sight to the debate on a request for an extra HK$19.6 billion in funding for the high-speed railway, the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee spent much of its time on Friday debating whether to adjourn the debate instead.

Since December, the government has been seeking Legco’s approval for the extra money on top of the HK$65 billion lawmakers approved in 2010.

The Finance Committee debated the funding for the first time since Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung took the rare move on Tuesday of bypassing the public works subcommittee’s key vote and asking the committee to make scrutiny of the proposal its top priority.

Cheung warned that if the request could not be approved this month, the 26km line to the border could be halted at an estimated loss of HK$4.8 billion, while the cost of resuming the project later could run to HK$28.2 billion. Thousands could lose their jobs if work was suspended, the minister said.

However, apart from seeking to adjourn the four-hour meeting, pan-democrats also spent the first 90 minutes arguing whether it was unlawful for the committee’s acting chairman, Chan Kam-lam, to waive a six-day notice period and accept Cheung’s suggestion on Tuesday.

READ MORE: MTR chief warns of ‘catastrophic’ aftermath if Legco votes down high-speed rail after shareholders let MTR take on potential further cost overruns

Labour Party lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said funding issues such as a health care voucher scheme for the elderly had had to make way because of the waiver.