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MTR Corporation
Hong KongHong Kong Economy

Hong Kong MTR: key section of costly Sha Tin-Central link to open by June 27 after repeated delays

  • ‘We could have done better, and we will learn the lessons,’ transport secretary says of trouble-plagued project
  • Tests on the Tai Wai-Hung Hom section of the HK$90.7 billion link, the city’s most expensive rail project, have been completed

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A train along the Tuen Ma line, part of the Sha Tin-Central link. Photo: Felix Wong
Cannix Yau

A key stretch of the long-overdue Sha Tin to Central link, Hong Kong’s most expensive rail project, will fully open on June 27 after repeated delays and cost overruns, the city’s transport minister has said, while pledging the government will learn lessons from the saga.

Secretary for Transport Frank Chan Fan on Friday said relevant tests on the Tai Wai-Hung Hom section of the HK$90.7 billion (US$11.7 billion) link had been completed, paving the way for next month’s launch.

“The overall Sha Tin to Central link has left a memorable mark on us. There are many things we could have done better and we need to learn lessons from it,” he said.

Plagued by shoddy work and cover-ups, the handling of the project by railway operator the MTR Corporation and its contractors has been under investigation on several occasions, including through a government-appointed commission of inquiry, a probe by an expert team of officials and an auditors’ review.

“We are trying to catch up with construction of the north-south bound section of the [Sha Tin to Central link] and do our best to open it,” Chan said of the cross-harbour segment of the project, still a work in progress.

Transport minister Frank Chan. Photo: Nora Tam
Transport minister Frank Chan. Photo: Nora Tam
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