High-speed rail project in Hong-Kong delayed with major economic consequences

The high-speed railway project connecting Hong Kong with Shenzhen and Guangzhou in China is subject to significant delays, estimated up to two years, having a serious impact on the development of the Pearl River Delta. MTR Corporation announced the delay last week, attributing it to the breakdown of the tunneling machine at Yuen Long. Construction began back in 2010 and it is estimated that it will not finish before 2016, while the railway is expected to open for public use in 2017. 

According to former head of the government's Geotechnical Engineering Office the tunnel boring machine was damaged after sand and mud got inside its electric motor after the recent rainstorms in the area and blamed the insufficient protection measures on behalf of the MTR Corporation. It was not the first time storms of the same or greater intensity were hitting the area, but none of the other nine machines currently in Hong-Kong has ever been damaged, disclosing the construction company's liability. Replacement of the machine's components is going to take time, leading engineers to consider the use of explosives to excavate the tunnels for the high-speed rail. Nevertheless, such an option is also time-consuming and is going to increase the cost of the HK$67 billion project by another HK$4.4 billion.

Zheng Tianxiang, a provincial policy adviser involved in several infrastructure projects, states that the delay is going to affect the profitability of the rest of the rail link. While the section connecting Guangzhou and Shenzhen is already open, passenger flow is low because most people's final destination is Hong-Kong. Moreover, the announced delay is going to negatively affect the plans for economic development in the Pearl River Delta. According to Ding Li, a planning expert of the Guangdong Academy of Social Sciences the government of Hong-Kong lacks in determination and political will, in promoting cross-border co-operation.