XN000022-1996-06-24 — Page 4

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Government statement on WCR

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The Government today (Monday) asked the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) to critically review the need at the present stage to proceed with all the technical studies for the Western Corridor Railway (WCR) project and to focus now on those studies which are absolutely essential for establishing a firm alignment for the Railway.

Speaking after a meeting of the KCRC Board this morning, the acting Secretary for Transport, Mr Paul Leung, said the Corporation had been advised that constraints identified in relation to land clearance and resumption matters would make it impracticable to complete the WCR by 2001.

"KCRC have estimated that the project will require the clearance/resumption of some 270 hectares of government land and 130 hectares of private land. According to a preliminary estimate by Lands Department, this exercise will take about five years to complete."

"This suggests that construction is likely to have to begin later than envisaged in KCRC's proposed programme, and that the target completion date will have to be revised accordingly, to beyond 2001."

"Given this development, it may no longer be necessary for KCRC to proceed with their planned technical studies all at the same time. Government has therefore asked KCRC to consider limiting at the present stage the scope of the technical studies to those which are essential for refining the alignment for the WCR so as to minimise the requirements for land resumption and clearance."

Mr Leung said based on the results of these studies, Government and KCRC would be able to work out a more realistic programme including the target completion date and improve the accuracy of the estimated project cost.

He stressed that Government remains committed to taking the WCR project forward.

"The WCR is a priority project for Government as it will provide much needed transport capacity to meet both passenger and freight needs in the territory.

"We are committed to embarking on all necessary preparatory work to enable us to take a firm decision on the project as early as possible.

"We shall proceed with the construction only when there is general consensus on the scope, cost and timing of the project within the community," Mr Leung said.

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