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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Acting Chief Executive, Mrs Carrie Lam, at a media session at the ground floor lobby of the Office of the Chief Executive at Tamar today (May 16):
Acting Chief Executive: The Government has attached great importance to the works of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL). On the delay of works, the Secretary for Transport and Housing has earlier advised that the Government will set up an Independent Expert Panel to conduct a thorough examination of existing project management and monitoring mechanism and practices, as well as relevant issues, to find out the problems and the reasons behind them.
The Independent Expert Panel is to be appointed by the Chief Executive. In my capacity as the Acting Chief Executive, I have now appointed the Honourable Mr Justice Hartmann as Chairman of the Panel. The two other members of the Panel are both experts from overseas. They are Mr Peter Hansford from the United Kingdom and Professor Andrew J Whittle from the United States.
The terms of reference of the Panel are threefold.
First is to review the project management, monitoring and cost control mechanisms of the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) on the implementation of the XRL project, covering systems and processes of the MTRCL.
Secondly, to review project monitoring mechanism adopted by the Hong Kong SAR Government covering the interface between the MTRCL and the Highways Department, the supervision system and processes of the Highways Department, as well as the overseeing role and modus operandi of the THB (Transport and Housing Bureau).
And thirdly is to identify systemic and any other problems involved in project implementation and supervision, and to make recommendations on measures for improving the above systems and processes.
I would like now to briefly introduce the three members of the Panel:
The Chairman, Mr Justice Hartmann, should be a familiar name to many. He served in the Hong Kong Judiciary for over 20 years, retiring as Justice of Appeal in the summer of 2012. He remains a Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal. Mr Justice Hartmann specialised in public and administrative laws.
Mr Peter Hansford has been appointed the UK Government's Chief Construction Adviser. In this role, he works with government and industry to transform the UK's construction sector and to ensure that it is equipped with the knowledge, skills and best practice needed to transition to a smarter and more efficient industry. He has over 35 years' experience in the delivery of major infrastructure. Mr Peter Hansford is appointed to the Panel in his personal capacity.
Professor Andrew J Whittle is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a geotechnical engineer with particular expertise in the modelling of soil behaviour and analysis of soil-structure interactions. He has worked extensively on urban excavation and tunnelling projects. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
You will find more details of their background in the press release that we will shortly issue. We are extremely grateful to Justice Hartmann and the two overseas experts for accepting the appointments to the Independent Expert Panel.
The Panel is expected to commence work in June this year for completion before the end of November this year, and that is a duration of six months. The Panel will submit the report to the Chief Executive and the report will be made public. Thank you very much.
Reporter: (Inaudible.)
Acting Chief Executive: This is not the objective of the Independent Expert Panel. As I have said in detail, the terms of reference of the Independent Expert Panel are really to look at systemic issues, processes and the ways of supervision and monitoring and also mechanisms of cost control. But of course in the purpose (process) of its investigation, if the Independent Expert Panel comes across issues relating to how individuals have performed, then I suspect the Independent Expert Panel will also report on those findings.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, May 16, 2014
Issued at HKT 13:25
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