The Government will move a motion at the Legislative Council meeting on January 23 relating to the proposal to adjust the tolls of private cars, taxis and motorcycles for using the three road harbour crossings with effect from January 1, 2020.

It said the toll adjustment proposal can effectively alleviate cross-harbour congestion and release 10 traffic junctions which are currently obstructed by traffic queues on the connecting roads of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Eastern Harbour Crossing.

It can also save 19,400 hours of daily commuting time for citizens using public transport, generate about $800 million of social cost savings per year, and reduce carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles by about 3,800 tonnes per year.

The Government said there is general consensus on the direction to rationalise traffic among the three road harbour crossings, and the proposal received support from many stakeholders including academics, professional institutions, and the taxi and transport trades.

It hopes legislators will support the motion for the overall interest of Hong Kong.

After obtaining LegCo's support for the motion, the Government will shortly introduce subsidiary legislation into LegCo to amend the toll levels of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel and the Eastern Harbour Crossing.

It will also submit a funding application to the LegCo Finance Committee for the Western Harbour Crossing Toll Compensation Scheme and work with the tunnel’s franchisee on the detailed agreement.