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1. Mega bridge by 2008: Wu

2. $1b SkyPlaza bid interest stirs

3. Infectious diseases centre cash sought

4. Water gripes given the flick

5. Water Torture

6. 'Every time my neighbour flushes the toilet, the water starts dripping'

7. Dilbert by Scott Adams

8. Rail boss Tien warns against KCRC fire sale

1. Mega bridge by 2008: Wu
Staff reporter, The Standard 8 June 2004

The long-awaited Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai mega bridge is likely to be completed by 2008, according to Hopewell Holdings chairman Gordon Wu.

However, some details remain to be hammered out before tenders are called, probably late this year, he said.

Wu said the HK$14.14 billion, 30-kilometre bridge project will be speeded up following the Pan-Pearl River Delta co-operation forum in Hong Kong last week.

He said the final design, including the bridge's landing point at Zhuhai, and whether it will have a single or double ``Y'' shape, also have yet to be decided. ``Whether the bridge will be single or double `Y' shaped, it will be beneficial to Hong Kong.''

Wu was speaking yesterday at the Student Leadership Conference at the City University.

``But the double `Y' design will be more expensive to build,'' he warned.

He ruled out the possibility of incorporating a railway on the bridge. According to Wu, adding a railway would make the controversial project at least HK$10 billion more expensive.
The bridge is expected to handle about 20,000 vehicles each day.

In view of this , Wu said the number of vehicles with cross-border licences must be increased.
``We expect to call for tenders for the project by the end of the year, and construction work to begin in mid-2005,'' he said.

``If all goes according to plan, the bridge will be built by 2008.

``Interested parties in all the three cities involved have equal chances of participation, but companies in Hong Kong are more familiar with the Pearl River Delta region and will have an edge in bidding.''

2. $1b SkyPlaza bid interest stirs
Keith Wallis, The Standard 8 June 2004

Nearly 20 contractors have taken the first step in bidding for a HK$1 billion Airport Authority scheme to build SkyPlaza, the integrated multi-modal transportation centre that will extend the passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport.

The project includes construction of a covered coach station, airline check-in facilities, 30,000 square metres of retail and entertainment facilities and a 15,000 sqm office block to be used as the authority's headquarters.

Insiders confirmed that 17 firms had applied for prequalification documents up to last Thursday.

This followed a formal invitation to contractors last month after talks broke down between the authority and four construction firms to negotiate a deal.

Sources said the firms - Balfour Beatty, Gammon, Leighton Contractors and Necso - were left smarting after the collapse of the talks having invested a considerable amount of money and time in tender preparation.

``Each firm spent about HK$7 million on tendering costs which was all wasted after the Airport Authority pulled the plug,'' one source said.

The authority chose the four firms based on their reputation or previous track record of working for the organisation.

It planned a partnership agreement with the successful firm, similar to the arrangement with Balfour Beatty which built the HK$420 million East Hall extension, to reduce conflict on the project.

These measures would have helped ensure the scheme was built on time and within budget.

As a result, another insider said the authority's decision to scrap the negotiations and put the scheme out to a rebid did not bode well for its future commitment to the partnering-type approach.

He also speculated that the original project estimate was off target. In fact the source believed it was too low.

But a senior authority rejected this criticism.

``The tender prices were 30 per cent higher than the budget. This is equivalent to HK$400 million. The price per square metre we got for our office block was higher than 2 International Finance Centre,'' he said.

The airport insider said there were several other issues that forced the authority to repackage and rebid the project.

Among these were the planned HK$510 million purchase by Balfour Beatty of the 50 per cent stake in Gammon that is currently held by Swedish construction firm Skanska.

He said neither Balfour Beatty nor Gammon had informed the authority of the proposed purchase either when bids went in at the end of April or in the subsequent talks.

As a result, he believed questions of propriety would have been raised if Gammon or Balfour Beatty had won the project only to be joined by the other contractor.

The source said that when the four firms were pricing their bids, steel prices were reaching record highs as a result of speculative buying to meet demand from the mainland.

Since China had taken measures to cool the economy, prices had dropped by about 10 per cent to 15 per cent. This reduction should be reflected in the new bids.

There should be cheaper concrete prices too after Kier, the contractor building a HK$100 million extension to the apron for cargo aircraft, decided to put a concrete batching plant on site rather than truck material into the airport.

The source said concrete should be made available to both the SkyPlaza contractor and Leighton, which is building the foundations to the complex.
He said the authority had also taken out much of the civil engineering works and mechanical and electrical systems.

This had not only made the project ``more attractive to more players'' but had reduced the risk of delay and interface issues that were a factor in the larger scheme.

He said the four earlier contractors had faced substantial liquidated damages for late completion, and this risk had been reflected in higher bids.

One of the positive measures to come out of the repackage decision is more work for Leighton Contractors.

The firm has had its foundations contract widened to cover the construction of a tunnel to extend the people mover and basement structures, including facilities for a lengthened baggage handling system.

The authority is asking contractors to submit prequalification documents by June 23.

Tenders are expected to be invited in July and the contract will be awarded in late November.

Construction is expected to start before Christmas and the project is due for completion in mid-2006.

3. Infectious diseases centre cash sought
Keith Wallis, The Standard 8 June 2004

The Legislative Council will tomorrow be asked to approve funds for the government's controversial new HK$538 million infectious diseases centre at Princess Margaret Hospital.

The centre is the largest of nine projects worth more than HK$1.5 billion due to be considered by the Legislative Council's public works subcommittee, with the facility and at least two other schemes facing possible opposition from lawmakers.

The 21,600-square-metre facility will include 108 isolation beds in single and double rooms with en-suite toilet and shower facilities. There will also be a 14-bed intensive care unit.

It will also include a computer scanner suite, a lab for the handling, collection and distribution of highly infectious specimens and staff infection-control facilities with changing rooms and showers. The mortuary will be upgraded to meet infectious disease safety standards.

Construction is due to start in November for completion in June 2007.

The government has budgeted about HK$325 million for main construction, with HK$190.5 million earmarked for building work and HK$192.4 million for installation of mechanical and electrical services.

This includes HK$87.5 million for a special air-conditioning system with air pressure control and HK$26.5 million for automatic air-tight doors.

The Kwai Tsing District Council has raised concerns about the potential health hazards to nearby residents if the project goes ahead.

Two other projects - the construction of two direct-subsidy schools at a combined cost of HK$765.8 million - could be controversial as lawmakers question the government's intention to build more schools in the face of widespread opposition.

The first school, forecast to cost HK$222.5 million, is earmarked for a site at development area 10 in Sha Tin.

The facility will have 30 classrooms for secondary students and 30 primary ones together with 22 special rooms - 16 secondary and six primary - for computer-assisted learning and language teaching.

There will be a large assembly hall and a smaller facility, along with three basketball courts and two running tracks.

Construction is to start in November and finish in September 2006.

Nearly HK$43 million has been earmarked for piling works, HK$114.8 million for building works, HK$32.5 million for building services and HK$21.3 million for drainage.

The second school comprises a HK$218.2 million facility at development area 65 in Tseung Kwan O that will be similar to the Sha Tin building.

It will have 60 classrooms - 30 each for secondary and primary students - plus 23 special rooms - 17 secondary and six primary - and two conference rooms, a library, two assembly halls, running tracks and basketball courts.

Work is to start in October with completion due in June 2006.

Piling work is estimated to cost HK$53.6 million, building work HK$95 million, building services HK$27.3 million and HK$24 million for drainage.

The government will also seek HK$194.2 million to finance the second phase of the construction of Hin Tin public swimming pool.

Legislators are also due to consider funding for the HK$109 million replacement of piers at Sha Tau Kok, Wong Shek and Ko Lau Wan.

Work, set to start in October and finish two years later, calls for the demolition of the existing structures and the construction of new facilities.

Other schemes that are expected to be considered are the HK$90 million construction of a public transport interchange at Lok Ma Chau for the spur railway line to Sheung Shui; HK$62.6 million for extra lifts at United Christian Hospital; HK$47.2 million for the expansion of Sha Tau Kok boundary control point and HK$23.8 million for a pedestrian link at Fortress Hill.

Work at Sha Tau Kok includes the building of additional facilities for immigration and customs staff and improvement of areas like covered walkways and canopies. Construction is to begin in November.

4. Water gripes given the flick
DIKKY SINN, SCMP 8 June 2004

A one-stop office is being considered to handle water leakage complaints, which are now slipping through the cracks of at least four government departments.

More than 6,000 families live in flats that suffer chronic water leakage problems, mostly from ceilings, which are a daily nuisance.

But their complaints are flicked from one department to another. In some cases, they wait up to two years to get the problems fixed.

The four authorities handling the complaints are the Building Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Water Supplies Department and the Home Affairs Department. Each authority only deals with the complaints when they fall into their area.

For example, the Buildings Department takes up a case when the water leakage causes structural safety problems, while the Water Supplies Department will take action when the seepage results in serious wastage. The Home Affairs Department sometimes takes part in inter-departmental liaison.

Last year, the Buildings Department alone received 6,400 complaints about water leakage, while 1,680 were filed to the Water Supplies Department.

The FEHD after receiving a complaint, puts dye in the drainage system to find the source.

But of 798 complaints the FEHD's Central and Western district office received from May last year and April this year, 766 tests failed to identify the source of the problem. Only 32 cases were traced back to damaged water pipes.

Yeung Wai-foon, Central and Western district councillor, said many residents, especially those living in old buildings, suffer water leakage from upstairs.

"Water pipes in old buildings are ageing, which causes water dripping into flats," he said.

The Central and Western District Council has called for streamlined processing of complaints.

Mr Yeung said the departments failed to consider a flat owner's point of view making it difficult to handle complaints. "The complaints are being thrown from one government department to another department," said Mr Yeung. He said the most difficult task was to resolve conflict among the residents. "They [residents whose flats leak] refuse to let people ... inspect the defects because they are afraid this will get them into trouble," he said.

He said high legal costs also deterred cases being taken to court.

Johnny Chan Wah-tim, of the Home Affairs Department, told the District Council last week that the Building Department and the FEHD will "actively study" the plan for a new one-stop office this year.

But Mr Yeung was pessimistic about the plan. "I don't think the government has the resources to do it now," he said.

5. Water Torture
SCMP 8 June 2004

6. 'Every time my neighbour flushes the toilet, the water starts dripping'
DIKKY SINN, SCMP 8 June 2004

A litre of water leaks into Fung Ka-keung's living room in Sheung Wan from the flat upstairs in an average week.

"Every time my neighbour upstairs flushes the toilet, the water starts dripping," Mr Fung said.

The problem began over a year ago at the height of the Sars crisis.

Mr Fung, 46, and his 70-year-old mother have lived in the 500 sq ft flat in the 20-year-old Lam's Building in Kau U Fong for more than a decade. The leak had steadily got worse, Mr Fung said.

The water seeps out of pipes leading from his neighbour's upstairs balcony. The toilet is apparently near the balcony. He has placed basins on top of cupboards to catch the dripping water, which is being absorbed into the walls, making the paint peel.

"I feel helpless, my mother is very worried. I know the building is old but my neighbour has been most unco-operative," he said.

Mr Fung sought the help of the district office and government departments. "When we arranged to have inspectors check the drains upstairs, the neighbour would agree but when the inspectors showed up, the neighbour would be out," he said.

Buildings Department inspectors said the leak did not pose a structural problem, so it was not their problem. Food and Environmental Hygiene Department inspectors carried out tests but failed to prove the water came from his neighbour's toilet.

"I am still at square one after a year. Meanwhile, I have to empty the water several times a day," Mr Fung said. "It's no way to live, especially for my elderly mother."

7. Dilbert by Scott Adams
SCMP 8 June 2004

[Cartoon]

8. Rail boss Tien warns against KCRC fire sale
QUINTON CHAN, SCMP 8 June 2004

The head of the KCRC has warned against any cheap sale of the corporation's assets during a merger of the city's two railway operators.

The true value of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation "can only be realised some time in the future", chairman Michael Tien Puk-sun told the South China Morning Post.

"The sale should be based on the company's future prospects rather than today's valuation."

While he supported the merger with the MTR Corporation, Mr Tien said it might not be the best time to sell the KCRC's assets because the company was still in its development stage.

"A cheap sale of KCRC will not be any good for anybody," he said. "It is like a farmer who just planted a large piece of remote land with some excellent seeds and a businessman is asking to buy the site. Of course the farmer would say, `Come back at the time of harvest' or `Pay me a price based on the harvest'.

"We should not rush to carry out the sale just for the sake of doing it," said Mr Tien, who stressed he was not personally involved in the merger negotiations.

"We should not use the merger to save the government's budget deficit and I do not believe the government would do that. The merger is aimed at creating synergy and increasing efficiency of the two corporations."

Mr Tien said suggestions from some analysts that the government should just merge the KCRC's operations with the MTRC and withhold its assets for sale later was "interesting and worth considering".

The MTRC and the KCRC began merger negotiations after the government - the MTRC's biggest shareholder and the sole owner of the KCRC - agreed to the plan in February. The MTRC is expected to buy the KCRC.

Analysts are worried that the merger may be affected by the KCRC's declining profit. Last month it slashed its profit estimate for this year by two-thirds, to just $300 million, after the new West Rail attracted far fewer passengers than expected. Mr Tien has warned that the company could record a deficit next year or in 2006.

But MTRC chairman Raymond Chien Kuo-fung said last week the West Rail operation would not affect the merger talks.

Mr Tien also said the new Ma On Shan link, due to open by the end of the year, would not be profitable in its initial stage. But its East Rail extension from Hunghom to Tsim Sha Tsui, to be completed next year, would generate extra profit.

He said the KCRC's balance sheet would look "okay" in the coming few years.

"We may just make a little bit of money but our finances are healthy. The corporation's long-term future looks great," he said.