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Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (October 29):
Question:
It has been reported that the Task Force on Airport Co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen has commissioned a consultancy study on the feasibility and economic benefits of connecting the airports in the two places with a high-speed rail link for encouraging more passengers to use the two airports for transfer, with the aim of exploiting the respective competitive edges of the Hong Kong International Airport in international transport and the Shenzhen Airport in domestic transport, so as to bring about increases in passenger throughput for both airports. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the details of the above study, including the functions, alignment and station distribution of the new rail link, its supporting facilities and environmental facilities, as well as the investment-benefit analysis;
(b) whether the study will be completed within this month as scheduled and whether the Government will release the findings of the study immediately thereafter; and
(c) how the authorities will take forward the ensuing work upon completion of the consultancy study, as well as of the procedure involved and its details?
Reply:
President,
The Chief Executive announced in his 2007-08 Policy Address an initiative to foster closer co-operation between the Hong Kong International Airport and Shenzhen Airport and study the feasibility of direct rail link between them. The HKSAR Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government formed the Task Force on Airport Co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen (the Task Force) in January 2008 to follow up the proposal on establishing a rail connection between the two airports and to pursue airport business co-operation.
(a) The Task Force has commissioned experts to conduct a preliminary study on the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Airport Rail Link (ARL). Apart from looking into the feasibility and economic benefits of the ARL, the preliminary study also covers initial assessment on other aspects, such as possible alignment and station location options of the rail link proposal, as well as its relationship with the cross-boundary transport development between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, etc.
(b) & (c) As we announced after the first meeting of the Task Force held on January 17 this year, the above-mentioned preliminary study is targeted for completion in 2008. In the light of the current work progress, we hope that the study can be completed as scheduled and we will announce the findings of the study in due course. The current preliminary study involves various complex issues. The governments of the two sides will discuss the next steps of work having regard to the findings of the study.
Ends/Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Issued at HKT 11:01
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