Transport authorities on Thursday said they are hoping to begin examination and preliminary design work for planned mass transit systems in East Kowloon and Kai Tak in the middle of this year.

The government announced in Wednesday's budget that it will be seeking expressions of interest in smart and green mass transit schemes in the two areas, as well as in Hung Shui Kiu.

On Thursday, the Transport and Logistics Bureau said it had launched tenders for carrying out investigation studies and preliminary design for the East Kowloon and Kai Tak planned systems to begin relevant works in mid-2024.

"[We] expect to invite relevant suppliers and operators to submit their expressions of interest within the latter half of the year, to hammer out the specific requirements and design of the systems and their related infrastructure," the bureau said.

The authorities also said they will strive to begin the tendering process for construction of the two projects in 2026 and award the contracts the year after.