The Express Rail Link project to construct a high-speed rail between West Kowloon (in Hong Kong) to the Chinese border and Shenzhen will exceed its budget by 30%, $HK 20bn (USD 2.58 billion), and the opening will be delayed until the third quarter of 2018, MTR said.
“There are three reasons behind the overspending. First, the construction period is longer than scheduled; second, it includes unplanned costs such as extra projects caused by geological conditions that we did not expect; third, the construction costs have been increased, including both manpower costs and costs for materials,” Leong Kwok-Kuen, CEO MTR said.
The 26 km line, which passes entirely through tunnel and will offer speeds of up to 250km/h, was initially expected to open this year, but was pushed back to 2017 last year. MTR subsequently confirmed in March that an Independent Board Committee (IBC) was established to study the ERL project and that it was implementing the recommendations made in two IBC reports which would result in a revised estimated cost and opening date.
The project achieved a major milestone at the beginning of March with the breakthrough of the Ngau Tam Mei – Tai Kong Po tunnel, which marked the completion of 12.9 km of drill-and-blast tunnel excavation required for the project.
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