MTR Corporation chief executive Jeny Yeung said the quality and safety standards of the Northern Link line that it is building will not be compromised despite a significantly reduced cost forecast.

Her remarks came after the government gave the green light to the second phase of the project this week, revealing that the entire railway link is expected to cost about HK$86.2 billion - around 28 percent lower than initial estimates as a result of a shortened construction period and cost-saving measures.

Speaking on a television programme aired on Saturday, Yeung also said the rail operator was not concerned about the project going over budget.

"We shall work very hard to control costs when working on the project," she said.

"In addition, we will also utilise more technology and, in the process, use as much innovative thinking as possible.

"Like I just said, we shall jointly build part one and part two of the railway link, and the approach will also benefit from innovative thinking."

Yeung added that the Northern Link would likely adopt equipment aligned with mainland railway standards to enable greater procurement flexibility, following the promulgation of the Hong Kong Railway Standards in February, which for the first time systematically integrate mainland standards alongside international frameworks.

Under the project agreement signed on Tuesday, the government also granted eight sites along the Northern Link to the rail operator for residential and commercial development.

Yeung said not all of the sites are expected to be put out for market tender by 2034, when both the main line and the spur line are scheduled to be commissioned simultaneously. Sites close to nearly completed stations, such as Kwu Tung, will be prioritised for development, she added.

Overall, the corporation is currently working on seven separate projects, she said, predicting that the three-year period starting from 2029 will mark its peak construction phase.

Regarding a recent incident in which around 30 pillars at the platform level of the under-construction Tung Chung West Station were found to be substandard, Yeung said the company was still aiming to meet the original commissioning timeline of December 2029.

Asked why there was a one-month gap between the MTR's discovery of the issue and its public announcement in November, she stressed that staff had ordered the contractor to suspend work immediately after spotting suspected irregularities during routine inspections.

Staff subsequently spent time inspecting other columns and uncovered further issues, she explained.

Yeung went on to say that the MTR was taking the irregularities seriously and pledged to update the public as more details came to light.





Edited by Azam Khan