Lawmakers slam Hong Kong’s MTR Corporation for repeated delays to Sha Tin-Central link, ‘unacceptable’ evasiveness
- Lawmakers are sceptical the rail operator can meet the current timetable for opening the massive project’s cross-harbour section
- ‘Even a three-year-old kid won’t believe’ the project will be completed by the first quarter of next year, says lawmaker Michael Tien
James Chow So-hung, MTR Corp’s divisional general manager for projects construction, acknowledged the cross-harbour section of the project between Hung Hom and Admiralty had been fraught with challenges. But he stopped short of saying whether its projected completion in the first quarter of 2022 – last revised in 2019 following a series of construction problems – would be delayed yet again.
“For the Tai Wai-Hung Hom section, we could meet the opening target in the third quarter of this year, as our preparation work for the opening of this section has been going smoothly,” he said.
“As for the Hung Hom-Admiralty section, due to various reasons we face many challenges in meeting the commissioning target at the first quarter of 2022. We are now taking various measures to catch up with the schedule, such as a flexible arrangement of work procedures and deployment of more manpower.”
