A row has broken out in Hong Kong between the government and the Route 3 (CPS) Company which says government plans to build the US$3bn Route 10 highway would rival its own build-operate concession on the Tai Lam road tunnel.
The Route 3 (CPS) Company, whose major shareholder is top development firm Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), warns that it faces collapse if the government goes ahead with publicly funded Route 10, part of which includes a tunnel at So Kwan Wat.
A senior executive with the toll company said: "Route 10 would be a free parallel route to our own tolled highway in the north-west New Territories. Drivers will shift away from our expressway to the government’s free road. We could go bankrupt." The company has already lost US$102M in two years as toll revenue failed to meet expectations. Currently, about 45,000 vehicles a day use the tolled section compared with its design capacity of 140,000 vehicles.
The Route 3 (CPS) Company’s US$1bn 30-year build, operate and maintain franchise began in January 1996. It includes the 3.8km Tai Lam tunnel, from the Ting Kau bridge to Tai Lam, and the 6.3km Yuen Long approach road to Au Tau. It was built to offer a faster route to Kowloon and Central from Yuen Long.
The toll company, which warns it could take legal action against the government, has lodged one of more than 500 objections to Route 10 which is due to start next year and be completed in 2007.
The Highways Department , admits it is facing massive opposition. A department insider said: "There are issues we have to try to overcome, but at the end of the day those people who have objected will have the last word."
Much of the road, including the So Kwan Wat tunnel, has been designed by Mott Connell.
