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1. No secret report on office plans

2. Cross-border express plan for West Rail

3. Officials 'dishonest over Tamar site'

1. No secret report on office plans
Staff Reporter, The Standard 7 February 2006

The government has described a media report suggesting it is withholding a "secret report" recommending the redevelopment of the existing Central Government Offices and Murray Building as misleading.

"It is a totally unfounded allegation that the government has been withholding any such analysis from the Legislative Council and the public," a government spokesman said Monday.

"Throughout the process of consultation and deliberations with the Legislative Council, we have furnished detailed information as to the rationale, justifications and various considerations regarding the Tamar development project."

Since the early 1990s, the government had been considering its options in light of its growing demand for office space at the Central Government Offices and Murray Building, the spokesman said. Previous research showed that while it might be technically feasible to redevelop the government offices, there would be significant constraints.

here were also concerns about limitations, such as the presence of a large number of mature trees, and preservation of historical features such as the open space outside St John's Cathedral and the Court of Final Appeal, Battery Path.

2. Cross-border express plan for West Rail
DENISE TSANG and MARTIN WONG , SCMP 7 February 2006

The KCRC has been asked to proceed with in-depth planning for an express rail link between Hong Kong and Guangzhou using its West Rail line rather than a dedicated new line.

The move was hailed last night as a step to consolidate Hong Kong's position at the centre of the Pearl River Delta - although a critic said its main aim was to salvage the underused West Rail line.

The Executive Council, in a decision unveiled yesterday, said the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation should combine planning for the Hong Kong section of the express rail link with work on its Northern Link.

The Northern Link will run between West Rail's Kam Sheung Road station and the Lok Ma Chau station on the eastward spur line now being built from the KCRC's East Rail line to the border. Trains will use a new terminus next to the West Kowloon station on the KCR's Southern Link - which will join West Rail's Nam Cheong terminus and Tsim Sha Tsui. The new terminus will allow interchange with the MTR's Tung Chung line and Airport Express services. Express trains will link Hong Kong with Shibi in Guangzhou and Longhua in Shenzhen.

Using West Rail tracks will reduce construction, allowing completion by 2013, and yield a higher rate of return than a dedicated line.

However, journeys between West Kowloon and Guangzhou will take an hour, instead of 48 minutes by a dedicated direct line, while the journey time from West Kowloon to the border will be nearly doubled.

Tuan Chyau, a professor at Chinese University's department of decision sciences and managerial economics, said the plan would strengthen Hong Kong's position as the "core city of the Pearl River Delta region". It would bring huge economic returns and require very little investment, he said.

"The flow of passengers and goods between the two sides would definitely increase," he said.

But Henry Chan Man-yu, chairman of Yau Tsim Mong District Council, said: "The purpose of the plan is mainly to salvage the West Rail line. New rail projects should be designed to meet future growth needs, instead of rescuing underperforming projects."

Pointing to West Rail and the KCRC's new Ma On Shan line and Tsim Sha Tsui East extension, Mr Chan called on the government to learn a lesson from the three projects and pay particularly close attention to the cost and viability of the express rail project.

The KCRC said it would discuss with the government capital arrangements for the express link.

3. Officials 'dishonest over Tamar site'
CHLOE LAI , SCMP 7 February 2006

The government has been accused of being dishonest and "talking nonsense" after it denied withholding a report backing the redevelopment of government offices on their present site.

Legislators said the administration had never given them a detailed analysis of why it needed to move its headquarters to the Tamar site in Admiralty.

They were speaking after the government described as misleading a South China Morning Post report yesterday that it was keeping under wraps research that showed retaining the headquarters in Central was feasible.

The Post revealed that the internal study - never released to the public or legislators - had found that the need for office space could be adequately met by renovating the Central Government Offices and using the full permitted density of the nearby Murray Building.

In response, the government said research had shown the Central option was "technically feasible" but difficult and would not meet the need for more space. "It is a totally unfounded allegation that the government has been withholding any such analysis from the Legislative Council and the public," it said. "Throughout the process of consultation and deliberations with the Legislative Council, we have furnished detailed information as to the rationale, justification and various considerations regarding the Tamar project."

Independent legislator Kwok Ka-ki said the government was talking nonsense and was "not honest". "Yes, it did tell Legco why it wanted to move to Tamar. But the explanations are unconvincing."

Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat said he had been to every meeting on Tamar since the plan was relaunched last year.

"I haven't seen any document, nor convincing arguments, on why we need to move to Tamar. At the end of the day, there are reports the government has never published. It must release the information."

Mr Lee said the party would write to the Administration Wing and demand the release of all related studies since the early 1990s. In its statement, the government said it had been looking into options for coping with the demand for office space in the Central Government Offices and Murray Building since the early 1990s.

"Previous research on redevelopment [in situ] showed that while it might be technically feasible to redevelop the CGO, there would be significant constraints," it said.

A spokesman added that the required move to interim premises "would cause serious disruption to the operation of the Government Secretariat. There are also concerns on site limitations, such as the presence of a large number of mature trees and preservation of historical features, for instance, the character of the open space outside St. John's Cathedral and the Court of Final Appeal, Battery Path, etc."

Mr Lee said that "of course" there would be disruption during the renovation. "But the government must weigh which will bring more benefits to Hong Kong and I'm sure Tamar is not the answer. Meanwhile, the CGO must be preserved, that is Government Hill, our history and cultural heritage.