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MTR Corporation
Hong KongTransport

Hong Kong to create new department by 2023 to oversee rail projects after string of controversies at MTR Corp

  • The office will be responsible for creating a new board and an independent expert advisory committee
  • But former head of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation questions why government can’t set up department immediately

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Construction of the Hung Hom to Admiralty portion of the Sha Tin-Central link has been plagued by delays. Photo: Nora Tam
Kanis Leung

Hong Kong will establish a railways department by 2023 to improve supervision of project delivery and planning by the city’s rail giant, which has been plagued by construction woes, cost overruns and delays over the last three years.

But former rail boss Michael Tien Puk-sun, who has long called for such an office, questioned why it could not be set up immediately.

The proposal came almost two years after a commission of inquiry investigating problems involving the Sha Tin-Central link suggested creating a new director position for rail development to better monitor rail project construction.

According to a Legislative Council document presented on Friday night, the new department will implement a string of strategies, including creating a new board – comprising officials from the government and MTR Corporation as well as external members – and an independent expert advisory committee to ensure better monitoring of projects.
A derailment near Hung Hom station on September 19, 2019, left eight passengers injured. Photo: Felix Wong
A derailment near Hung Hom station on September 19, 2019, left eight passengers injured. Photo: Felix Wong

Officials said that while they hoped to set up the branch as soon as possible, they proposed seeking approval from Legco’s Finance Committee in the next legislative session, given the government’s current financial situation and chief executive’s vision laid out in her 2020 policy address.

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