Cross-harbour tunnel toll plan to return to Hong Kong’s legislature, though lawmakers remain unconvinced
- Transport minister Frank Chan Fan and team of officials have been lobbying hard to raise tolls to ease congestion
- Lawmakers across political spectrum fear losing crucial support in district council elections if they back unpopular plan
A proposal to revamp Hong Kong’s cross-harbour tunnel tolls will resurface on the legislature agenda at the end of March, after strong political opposition forced it to be put on hold.
Transport minister Frank Chan Fan and his team of officials spent the last two days lobbying hard for support, but the revised plan looked in limbo with even the pro-establishment camp appearing difficult to convince.
The pro-democracy camp continued to stand firm against the plan that prompted a vehement public backlash in January.
Pro-government lawmaker Ben Chan Han-pan, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), said his party would wait and see how well the government gauged public support for the plan over the next month.
“We had a candid exchange of views,” Chan said of a meeting between DAB members and representatives from the Transport Department.