The Government today settled with the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) over delays and cost overruns on the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL)mand the Shatin to Central Link (SCL) projects.

Under the agreement, the MTRCL will pay the Government HK$2.25 billion for the programme delay of the XRL project.

For the SCL project, both parties agreed not to pursue claims against each other for the delay, with the MTRCL shouldering approximately HK$2.8 billion in additional project management cost for the whole project, alongside expenses from the quality incident of the Hung Hom Station Extension.

Entrusted to the MTRCL by the Government, both projects underwent extensive negotiations before reaching today’s settlement. 

The Transport & Logistics Bureau said that the settlement arrangement holds the MTRCL accountable for delays of both projects, adding that authorities followed up in a serious, rigorous and professional manner with the MTRCL to safeguard the legitimate interests of the Government and the public.

Following independent legal and engineering advice, the Government and the MTRCL have thoroughly reviewed the experiences and integrated enhanced mechanisms into ongoing railway projects.

Construction of the XRL began in 2010 and was slated to open in August 2015. Following delays and cost overruns, the Government and the MTRCL signed a definitive 2015 agreement pushing the completion target to the third quarter of 2018 and inflating the estimated Cost to Complete (CTC) by HK$19.42 billion, bringing it from HK$65 billion to HK$84.42 billion.

Construction of the SCL commenced in 2012, and although initially slated for completion between 2018 and 2020, the Tuen Ma Line and Cross-harbour Extension fully opened in June 2021 and May 2022, respectively, with estimated CTC rising from HK$79.82 billion to HK$90.73 billion.