LCQ7: Cost management and control for railway works
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Question:
The Hong Kong Major Transport Infrastructure Development Blueprint promulgated by the Government in December 2023 provides a planning framework for the future development of transport infrastructure in Hong Kong. There are views suggesting that railway works in Hong Kong, as compared with the Mainland, are currently beset by problems of excessively high construction costs and unduly long construction time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the information on the railway works projects commenced in Hong Kong over the past five years, with a breakdown of the figures in the table below:
| Year of works commencement | Project name | Railway length | Project cost | Cost per kilometre | Year of completion/ estimated time required for completion (in months) |
(2) of the measures adopted by the Government for the railway works projects mentioned in part (1) to control works costs and enhance the efficiency of railway construction; and
(3) how the Government will communicate and coordinate with Mainland departments in respect of railway works projects connecting with the Mainland (particularly the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu-Qianhai) and the Northern Link Spur Line projects), so as to foster cost reduction and efficiency enhancement in local railway works?
Reply:
President,
Under the layout of "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" transport infrastructure, the Government is fully committed to promoting and implementing a series of transport infrastructure projects in an orderly manner. The Government understands the public's expectation to further enhance the speed and efficiency in delivering Hong Kong's infrastructure projects, and is committed to reducing costs and shortening construction time. Upholding a strong determination to break new ground, we are actively pursuing a "dual innovation" thinking on policy and technology, exploring ways to optimise and streamline procedures, and drawing on the experience of other domestic and international major infrastructure developments, with a view to enhancing the efficiency of taking forward transport infrastructure projects. In response to the various parts of the question raised by Dr the Hon Junius Ho, our replies are as follows:
(1) The Government is advancing with full vigour a series of transport infrastructure projects. A number of railway projects have commenced construction over the past five years. The Kwu Tung Station on the East Rail Line, the Tung Chung Line Extension, the Tuen Mun South Extension, the Oyster Bay Station and the Hung Shui Kiu Station will be completed and opened progressively in the coming years from next year onwards. Meanwhile, the Northern Link (NOL) Spur Line is being taken forward concurrently in combination with the Main Line through an innovative mindset, with the aim of achieving simultaneous commissioning by 2034 or earlier. Information on the relevant projects is provided at the Annex.
(2) and (3) As mentioned above, the Government is committed to introducing innovative thinking, technologies and processes in promoting more efficient, forward-looking and cost-effective railway construction. Meanwhile, we review with the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) the various aspects of its new railway projects in respect of planning, design and construction, etc, to explore room for enhancing and streamlining procedures, with a view to saving manpower requirements of the project teams and reducing the costs as far as possible. We also encourage the MTRCL to actively embrace new technologies and techniques from the Chinese Mainland and overseas, exploring the application of different strategic cost control measures in railway projects. For example, in carrying out the works of the Kwu Tung Station on the East Rail Line, the MTRCL applied augmented reality technology together with building information modelling to make real-time comparison between the design and actual installation situation on-site, enabling early reconciliation of discrepancies and enhancing the quality and progress of works.
In February this year, the Highways Department (HyD) promulgated the Hong Kong Railway Standards, which provide technical references and guidelines for the entire project life cycle of railway projects in a comprehensive manner. The Standards enable new railway projects to make use of a broader selection of innovative technologies, materials, equipment and systems, etc, provide clear technical specifications as the approval basis for regulatory authorities, and also facilitate the development and optimisation of work processes by the industry, laying a solid foundation for enhancing speed and efficiency of Hong Kong's railway development. In support of the promulgation of the Standards, the HyD established the Railway Checking Unit (RCU) simultaneously, which consolidates the professional capabilities of building surveying, structural engineering and civil engineering to handle approvals for building plans of new railway projects in a dedicated manner together with a new electronic approval platform. This ensures rigorous control of safety and quality while enhances the efficiency of the approval process at the same time, substantially reducing the time for handling building plans by 30 to 50 per cent, which could help save resources and reduce costs.
We are confident that the Standards and the streamlined approval process would be able to substantially enhance the implementation efficiency and cost-effectiveness of railway projects in Hong Kong. The benefits for each individual project would vary depending on actual circumstances and nature of the project concerned. Taking the NOL Project as an example, as a rough estimate, the adoption of the Standards together with dedicated approval process by the RCU, coupled with the synergies generated by implementing the NOL Main Line in combination with the NOL Spur Line as one project, the construction cost of the NOL Project is expected to be reduced by about 20 per cent and the programme of the NOL Spur Line could also be advanced by two years to achieve simultaneous commissioning with the NOL Main Line by 2034 or earlier.
Regarding communication and liaison with the Mainland authorities on cross-boundary railway projects, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shenzhen authorities have been working closely through the Task Force for Hong Kong-Shenzhen Co-operation on Cross-Boundary Railway Infrastructure as well as the Office for Implementing Cross-Boundary Railway Projects and the Legal Group under the framework of the Task Force to jointly take forward the two cross-boundary railway projects, namely the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (HSWRL) and the NOL Spur Line projects, including taking forward work on feasibility study, investigation, design, construction and operation, etc. The governments of the two places have been working actively together to explore improvements to the construction scheme of cross-boundary railway projects with a view to achieving optimal effectiveness. For example, both sides agreed to adopt a unidirectional tunnelling method to construct the subsea railway tunnel of the HSWRL and also carry out the excavation from the Shenzhen side, so as to enhance the overall efficiency and cost effectiveness as well as ensure design compatibility and seamless coordination of construction works between the Hong Kong and Mainland sections of the subsea railway tunnel.
Ends/Wednesday, May 27, 2026
Issued at HKT 11:40
Issued at HKT 11:40
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