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Following the passage of the Rail Merger Bill in Legislative Council today (June 8), a spokesman for the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau explained the way forward for the legislative procedures and merger implementation.
"With the passage of the Rail Merger Bill today, we will proceed to submit the relevant subsidiary legislation to the Legislative Council which has already set up the Subcommittee to Study the Draft Subsidiary Legislation Relating to the Rail Merger to study the relevant subsidiary legislation in draft."
"We hope the legislative procedures for approving the subsidiary legislation can be completed before the current Legislative Council session ends on July 11. The MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) will then immediately proceed with the necessary steps required under the Listing Rules and arrange to convene an extraordinary general meeting in accordance with established procedures. If the merger proposal is approved by the minority shareholders of MTRCL, the two railway companies will make final preparation for merger implementation. These procedures are expected to be completed within a few months after completion of the legislative process."
"The merging of the two rail systems can create synergy which in turn creates an opportunity for fare reduction. Altogether 2.8 million daily rail passenger trips will benefit from fare reduction from day one of the merger. Furthermore, MTRCL has given assurance that there would be no fare increase up to June, 2009. We hope that all the relevant work can be completed as soon as possible so that the public can enjoy fare reduction," the spokesman said.
Ends/Friday, June 8, 2007
Issued at HKT 16:19
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