MTR to replace managers over rail scandal

Hong Kong’s sole rail operator will replace its chief executive officer and four top managers of the Sha Tin to Central Link project, MTR Corporation Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang said on Tuesday.

The link, dubbed the city’s most expensive rail project, has been scandal-hit since June, when irregular construction practices, such as corner cutting, were found at the link’s Hung Hom Station, the Exhibition Centre Station and To Kwa Wan Station.

MTR’s personnel changes were announced hours after the government demanded at a press conference that the company relieve people in charge of the project of their duties.

Secretary for Transport and Housing Frank Chan Fan said the government had lost faith in the project’s management board as the construction flaws discovered by the government’s investigation were “severe” and “extremely regrettable”.

“The MTRC is a very huge corporation, and therefore when we are talking about the sacking of a few officials or officers, there is bound to be an impact on their operation in terms of project management,” Chan said.

He said the government would deploy a team of experts to “help enhance the quality assurance and safety assurance of the project management team, to ensure a smooth and efficient transition due to the change of personnel.”

According to Chan, the project’s graphs and plans submitted by MTRC in July have “severe deviations” from the ones earlier produced by the Buildings Department.

Meanwhile, the number of couplers used to connect layers of steel bars which was mentioned in graphs provided in July was 2,000 less than the number planned, Chan revealed.

The transport chief said the government had submitted the relevant documents to the police and Commission of Inquiry on the construction problems of the Sha Tin-Central Link.

MTRC CEO Lincoln Leong Kwok-kuen, 57, had applied to retire early. He will leave when a successor is hired. Philco Wong Nai-keung resigned with immediate effect as projects director and as a member of the company’s executive directorate.

Three project general managers will also leave the company. But Ma did not reveal their full names. According to the MTR website, the link project’s management team includes: Lee Tsz-man, Jason Wong Chi-ching, Aidan Rooney and Clement Ngai.

Ma said the company’s board of directors was “kept in the dark” over changes of the construction plan at the Hung Hom Station made by the contractor, Leighton Contractors (Asia). He apologized for the company’s lack of supervision.

The company believed it was “totally unacceptable” for the contractor and project management team to have inaccurate information in “such an important report” submitted to the government, Ma explained.

Leong said the company was “very disappointed” that Leighton made construction changes without full documentation or formal submission to the MTR construction management team. But he said the changes were confirmed to be safe by independent experts hired by the company.

“But this is no excuse for not having proper procedures,” Leong said. He said the company will keep investigating the work of Leighton in accordance with the contract.