HK$200m to keep ferries afloat

Transport authorities are proposing to raise subsidies for ferry routes to outlying islands to nearly HK$200 million in order to keep services going, prompting one lawmaker to say the government may be better off running the ferry routes itself.

Officials were also considering adding an extra storey and roof terraces to three piers in Central to increase rental revenue to help pay for the routes, lawmakers heard yesterday.

The three-year licences are due to expire next year, and Secretary for Transport and Housing Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung said the two operators - New World First Ferry and Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry - were interested in renewing them as long as the cap on subsidies was raised.

The routes are: Central to Cheung Chau, Mui Wo, Peng Chau, and Lamma's Yung Shue Wan and Sok Kwu Wan, plus an inter-island ferry service.

The cap now stands at a total of HK$115 million over the three years; the suggested figure for the next three years was put at HK$191 million.

The bulk of that would be for vessel maintenance, with a maximum total subsidy of HK$95.7 million; elderly and child fare concessions would qualify for up to HK$36.5 million in subsidies.

According to government documents submitted to the Legislative Council's transport panel, the actual reimbursement the companies received during the first year of the current contract, which began in mid-2011, was HK$37 million.