Extract from SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
Monday January 11, 1971
EXCO WILL CONSIDER TUBE REPORT
BY WILLIAM LAM
Recommendations by the Transport Advi- sory Committee, proposing the construction of an underground railway system for Hongkong, are expected to be submitted to the Executive Council some time this month for a final decision.
lieve the scheme would be economically viable "by quite a large margin."
The Council will hold a meeting tomorrow and an- other one next week but it is not known at which meet- ing a decision will be made. The TAC had decided to make a favourable recom- mendation in the middle of last month after studying a report prepared by the con- to look as sultant engineers, Freeman,
Fox and Partners.
Since then the Commis- sioner of Transport, Mr A. J. Shephard, the main advocate of the scheme in Government, has stated that the "revenues from the system are beginning capital and operating costs can though the total
be recovered, in addition to- the servicing costs of the capital."
The consultants have pro- posed а system with 48 stations on 32.7 miles of track which will link Tsun Wan and
One of the main points of Central, Ma Yau Tong and dispute is the estimate of con- Central, Kennedy Town and struction costs $4,400 mil- Chaiwan, and Diamond Hill lion which some say even and Western Market,
at. today's figures is totally un- realistic. Thus, if Hongkong opted for the scheme and found itself faced with a con- siderably higher figure ít would then either have to subsidise it or price the fares at such a high rate that it might discourage mass use.
If Government gives the green light within the next six months to go ahead with the construction, the first stage of the system can be completed by 1978 and the whole system by 1986.
The major question to be decided by the Executive Council is whether the system as proposed by the consultants will prove viable, and if not, whether it can still be justified because of the Colony's grow. ing traffic congestion.
There is general agreement that the railway should not be subsidised by the taxpayer and thus draw funds which should go into more urgently needed areas such as welfare expenditure.
If this view continues to be accepted, the fate of the sub- way scheme will depend on whether it can be shown to be viable.
The other vexed question is where the capital is to come from, for while contractor finance will undoubtedly be offered, it is thought Hong- kong will still have to find a major portion from its own sources unless, as in the case of the cross-harbour tun- nel, political strings can be pulled in the United Kingdom to arrange a loan.
The subway scheme thus hangs in the balance.
Observers pointed out, how- ever, that even if it is rejected by the Executive Council this year. it might well be that the scheme will be recommended The Financial Secretary, for re-examinaion to the new Sir John Cowperthwaite, has administration that Mr Mur- declared publicly and em- ray Maclehose will head later phatically that he does not be. this year.