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for. 1.
Investigation on KCRC West Rail Contract 2.
New Route 9 section realises east-west strategic road
in NT 3.
No cover-up pledge on West Rail report cuts 4.
KCRC chief in plea over payout 5.
Construction waste dumping at Disney site saves $100m 6.
Reporting of landslips centralised
1. Investigation on KCRC West Rail Contract In
response to media enquiries concerning a press report today (May 9) about the
Government's involvement in the West Rail project, a Government spokesman said,
"In November 2001, at the request of the KCRC, the Chief Executive emphasised
to Dr Baumann, the Chairman of Siemens, that the West Rail was a major infrastructural
project for Hong Kong and that Siemens should complete the telecommunications
systems contract with KCRC on schedule. Dr. Baumann was attending the Chief Executive's
Council of International Advisers meeting in Hong Kong at that time." "Aside
from this, the Chief Executive was not aware of KCRC's subsequent negotiation
of the supplemental agreement with Siemens on the contract. The Government played
no part in the negotiations. Decisions on the settlement were commercial decisions
of KCRC," the Government spokesman said. "At a meeting of the Subcommittee
of the LegCo Panel on Transport on February 4, 2002, in response to a question
from Hon Albert Chan as to whether the Chief Executive was aware of KCRC's decision
on the supplemental agreement and whether he supported the decision, the then
Secretary for Transport clarified that negotiations relating to the supplemental
agreement were commercial decisions of the KCRC. He also emphasised that it had
not been necessary to involve the Chief Executive in such a decision," the
Government spokesman said. Note to Editors: Please note that the transcript of
the Subcommittee meeting of the LegCo Panel on Transport on February 4, 2002 in
Chinese could be found in the Chinese version of the press release. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 9 May 2002] 2.
New Route 9 section realises east-west strategic road in NT
The new east-west strategic link between the Airport and north-eastern part of
the New Territories (NT) takes shape today (May 9) following the award of the
first works contract of Route 9 between Tsing Yi and Sha Tin - the Ngong Shuen
Chau Viaduct. The Director of Highways, Mr Lo Yiu-ching awarded the $1,538- million
contract on behalf of the Government to China Harbour Engineering Company (Group)
for construction of the Viaduct. Speaking at the press conference today after
the contract-signing, Mr Lo said the commencement of works on Route 9 between
Tsing Yi and Sha Tin signified a start of a series of works contracts for this
project which would be awarded in the subsequent years. "Highways Department
has been building high quality roads, expanding and improving road networks to
meet changes in transport need and requirements of urban/town development,"
Mr Lo said. "We will continue our work to help maintain the role of Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region as a regional transport hub," he added.
The Ngong Shuen Chau Viaduct comprises a 2.2-kilometre dual three-lane road connecting
the Stonecutters Bridge with the West Kowloon Highway and another section of Route
9 at the Lai Wan Interchange. Works have just commenced for completion by end
2006. Describing the scope of work of the Route 9, Mr Lo said: "The 13.5-kilometre
section of Route 9 between Tsing Yi and Sha Tin comprises three tunnels, four
viaducts and a spectacular cable-stayed bridge, Stonecutters Bridge." Route
9 is a trunk road linking Lantau and Sha Tin via Tsing Yi and West Kowloon. The
main components include the North Lantau Highway and the Lantau Link completed
in 1997; Route 9 between Tsing Yi and Cheung Sha Wan; and another section of the
Route between Cheung Sha Wan and Sha Tin. After the completion of these two sections,
Route 9 will provide a direct link between the airport at Chek Lap Kok to North
East New Territories. It will also connect the Lantau Link to the West Kowloon
Highway at Cheung Sha Wan and provide direct accesses to the future Container
Terminal No. 9 (CT9) and existing container terminals without going through the
Tsing Yi local road network. The section of Route 9 between Tsing Yi and Sha Tin
includes: * about 1.5-kilometres of dual three-lane highway connecting Cheung
Tsing Highway at the North West Tsing Yi Interchange with the Nam Wan Tunnel;
* a 1.2-kilometre three-lane twin-tube Nam Wan Tunnel at Tsing Yi; * about 4.9-kilometres
of dual three-lane elevated highway, including the Stonecutters Bridge, connecting
the Nam Wan Tunnel with the Ngong Shuen Chau Viaduct; * slip roads connecting
Route 9 with the local road networks at CT8 and the proposed CT9; * about 1.4-kilometres
of dual-three lane elevated carriageway connecting Ngong Shuen Chau Viaduct at
Lai Wan Interchange with Eagle's Nest Tunnel; * a 2.1-kilometre dual three-lane
tunnel under the Eagle's Nest (Eagle's Nest Tunnel) with a 0.5 km long tunnel
approach at Butterfly Valley; * a toll plaza at the valley of Sha Tin Heights;
* a one-kilometre dual three-lane tunnel under Sha Tin Heights (Sha Tin Heights
Tunnel); * a 0.6-kilometre dual two-lane tunnel approach road in Tai Wai connecting
to the proposed Road T3, with slip roads connecting to Che Kung Miu Road (Che
Kung Miu Road Slip Roads); * environmental mitigation measures, traffic control
and surveillance system, as well as roads and drainage works. To be implemented
in phases, the construction period of the whole section of Route 9 between Tsing
Yi and Sha Tin has started from May 2002 for completion by 2007. [Source:
Hong Kong Government, 9 May 2002] 3.
No cover-up pledge on West Rail report cuts
Legal advisers for the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) will remove sensitive
commercial information ahead of the release of a controversial report on the payment
of an extra HK$1.53 billion to West Rail contractors. But KCRC chairman Michael
Tien, heading off possible claims the rail company was sanitising or whitewashing
its contents, promised yesterday to tell the public and legislators which parts
had been deleted and why. ``From the very beginning, we realised the report would
involve sensitive commercial information. Therefore, we've appointed an external
legal adviser [to see whether information should be deleted],'' Tien said. If
information was censured, he said, ``we will explain why it was deleted. We're
confident, when dealing with the Legislative Council, that if we have deleted
any information, they'll understand''. Tien said most of the sensitive information
``involved only numbers''. Tien appointed Ernst & Young to prepare the report
following a furore into the payment of an extra HK$100 million to Siemens even
though the German contractor fell behind on its HK$287 million telecommunications
contract. The probe was widened to cover payments totalling HK$1.43 billion on
17 more contracts on the HK$46.4 billion West Rail scheme. Tien said he did not
know if Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa had played a role in the payments wrangle
with Siemens. But in a statement last night, the government confirmed the KCRC
had asked Tung to intervene in November 2001 when it emphasised to Karl-Hermann
Baumann, Siemens' supervisory board chairman, that ``West Rail was a major infrastructure
project for Hong Kong and that Siemens should complete the telecommunications
systems contract with KCRC on schedule''. Baumann was attending the Chief Executive's
council of international advisers meeting in Hong Kong at that time. Ernst &
Young had concluded that KCRC was right to pay Siemens the extra HK$100 million
to guarantee completion of its contract on schedule. The accountancy firm supported
the payment of the additional cash to the other contractors and did not find any
malpractice or mismanagement. But the report said those with day-to-day responsibility
for settling the dispute with Siemens, including capital works director James
Blake and West Rail director Ian Thoms, should have told the management board
of the problems a lot earlier. Ernst & Young said had the board, whose members
included Secretary for the Treasury Denise Yue and Hang Seng Bank chief executive
Vincent Cheng, known of the difficulties it could have helped find a solution.
KCRC chief executive Yeung Kai-yin and other senior staff knew delays were occurring
on Siemens' contract in 2000, but were hopeful the problems could be resolved.
Instead, they got worse and by October 2001 ``there were no positive signs of
recovery'' and delays in the provision of computer software reached 10 weeks.
The management board was told of the extent of the problems in November 2001 when
KCRC managers wanted to send a team to negotiate with Siemens executives in Germany.
Asked about the level of management reporting yesterday, Tien said: ``As with
any process in any company, there's always room for improvement. But we have to
draw a fine balance between whether management should take everything to the board
because in that case the board becomes the management. ``On the other hand, if
management keeps everything to themselves without notifying the board until the
very last minute, that's another extreme.'' Copies of the report had been handed
to Tien and KCRC board members. But senior managers, including Blake and Thoms,
had ``not been given sight of the report''. Tien refused to give details of the
contents of the report ahead of its publication next week. He would not say if
it blamed or held Yeung or Blake accountable for the payments wrangle. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 10 May 2002] 4.
KCRC chief in plea over payout
The KCRC has issued a plea for public understanding ahead of next week's release
of a report into a controversial $100 million payout to a West Rail contractor.
KCRC chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun said auditors had completed the report into
the corporation's deal with telecommunications contractor Siemens. It is understood
that the report concludes - without naming names - that those overseeing the project
for the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation failed to study details of the bid
from Siemens carefully enough. Mr Tien said the board of directors was now trying
to decide what sensitive business data should be deleted from the report before
it can be released to the public next week. He said it would be up to the public
to decide if anyone should be held responsible for the row, which erupted after
it was discovered that Siemens was paid an extra $100 million above its agreed
fee, despite not meeting contract requirements. "How to qualify the charge
of 'concealing what one knows of the case' is subject to interpretation,"
he said. "I think when the report comes out next week, everyone can make
their own judgment." He said it would be difficult to differentiate between
deliberately concealing the truth and releasing information too late. "I
just hope everyone can understand that in this world everything is not black or
white. It is a question of levels," he said. The KCRC chief also said that
some hitches with the West Rail project were understandable because it was such
a major undertaking. "It is the first time for many years that we have engaged
in a major infrastructure building programme," he said. Mr Tien refused to
comment on a report in the Chinese press yesterday that Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa
might have been aware of problems with the Siemens contract before the KCRC board,
and had had talks about it with the head of Siemens. Last night a government spokesman
said that in November 2001, at the request of the KCRC, Mr Tung had told the chairman
of Siemens that because of the major nature of the contract, Siemens should complete
it on time. The chairman of Siemens had been attending the Chief Executive's Council
of International Advisers, meeting in Hong Kong. "Aside from this, the Chief
Executive was not aware of the KCRC's subsequent negotiations of the supplemental
agreement with Siemens on the contract," the spokesman said. "The Government
played no part in the negotiations. Decisions on the settlement were commercial
decisions of KCRC." The KCRC launched an independent probe into the extra
payout to Siemens, as well as 27 other supplementary agreements made for the West
Rail project, totalling $1.53 million, at the end of January following a public
outcry. The Siemens probe was initially meant to have been completed early last
month but had to be delayed after the KCRC replaced KPMG Peat Marwick with Ernst
& Young as external auditors following a row over the issue of indemnity.
The West Rail project, linking the northwest New Territories and Shamshuipo, is
scheduled for completion next year. [Source:
SCMP, 10 May 2002] 5.
Construction waste dumping at Disney site saves $100m
The Government claims to have averted a potential loss of $100 million in transporting
and storing construction waste by dumping the materials into the second phase
of the Disney theme park reclamation site. Officials said the move, which involved
changing the construction plan for the site, addressed concerns aired by the Audit
Commission in a report last month. In its latest report, the commission warned
money would be wasted under the original construction plan. The 3.6 million tonnes
of construction and demolition materials from the Tseung Kwan O landfill was originally
destined for the first phase of the reclamation project. But because of a delay
in Tseung Kwan O, the material could not be shipped to the Disney site at Penny's
Bay on Lantau in time. Sea sand costing $39.3 million had to be bought instead
of using the demolition materials. The commission estimated transport and storage
of the demolition waste would cost an extra $100 million. But at the Legco Public
Accounts Committee hearing yesterday, Director of Civil Engineering Lau Ching-kwong
said the Government had avoided the charges by amending the construction plan
for the Disney reclamation, to start next year. Under the new plan, all the material
will be used for the land reclamation after being sorted in Tseung Kwan O. Mr
Lau said the new plan was drawn up after an approach from the commission on the
issue last year. Funding for the plan was approved by the Legco public works subcommittee
on Monday. Cheng Kam-cheong, Assistant Director of Civil Engineering, said: "The
use of marine sand instead of the landfill materials was much cheaper for the
first phase of the Disney reclamation." Mr Cheng said the original plan could
have cost $83.6 million because of the higher transport costs. The commission
has accepted the explanation. Although lawmakers generally accepted the plan,
they called for better use of recycled landfill materials to free up space in
landfills. [Source:
SCMP, 10 May 2002] 6.
Reporting of landslips centralised
All government departments will be required to report landslips to the Geotechnical
Engineering Office so it can provide a comprehensive, up-to-date database of slope
conditions, lawmakers were told yesterday. Geotechnical engineer Raymond Chan
Kin-shek told the Public Accounts Committee the administration plans to issue
guidelines to other departments on the reporting of landslips. He said the arrangement
would avoid confusion and repetition when follow-up landslip studies were carried
out. In its latest value-for-money report, the Audit Commission said the Geotechnical
Engineering Office did not have detailed information on minor landslips after
1998 as some had been reported to other departments. Lau Kong-wah, of the Democratic
Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, criticised the office for not collecting
the information. Director of Civil Engineering Lau Ching-kwong said the office
had acted on 62 unregistered slopes. The Audit Commission had found these slopes
had not been recorded. Mr Lau said about four per cent of man-made slopes might
not have been identified and registered due to technical difficulties in locating
them and taking aerial pictures. He said: "The office is now conducting an
exercise to identify and register these slopes. The full slope record will be
compiled by September." Lee Shing-see, Secretary for Works, said an interim
review of the five-year Accelerated Landslip Preventive Measures Programme would
be completed by the end of the year. Under the programme, the Works Department
gives top priority to maintenance on slopes considered as being the most dangerous.
Slopes that do not pose a serious threat will still be subject to regular checks
to ensure their safety, he said. [Source:
SCMP, 10 May 2002] |  |
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