Untitled - Civic Exchange

Chapter 7:
The Dynamics of Decision-making in Hong Kong
The structure of the POAS reflects an attempt to facilitate "better deployment of resources and closer
coordination of portfolios" rather than achieve more sustainable development for Hong Kong. Indeed, the
best evidence of current government priorities is the fact that in the most senior ranks of the government,
the driving goal is bureaucratic expediency rather than an understanding of policy.
Case Study 1: Rail versus Road Financing
The issue of rail versus road financing is covered in detail in Chapter 3. Rethinking the way in which
government provides support to different transport modes, whether directly or indirectly, is critical in
moving towards a more sustainable transport system for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong's railways operate on prudent financial principles and are largely self-financing. The railfinancing
mechanism is seen as a triumph by policy-makers, who have therefore shown little inclination to
examine whether Hong Kong could be better served by an alternative policy. For example, they have not
adequately considered the fact that although Hong Kong has the highest population density in the world
and relies on public transport for 90% of all journeys, its rail system is skeletal in comparison with the
systems in cities such as London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo (see the rail maps in Chapter 3). In other
words, it is arguable that Hong Kong residents have inferior rail service compared to their counterparts in
cities with similarly developed economies.
Moreover, since 1999, the stated transport policy has been "to rely on railways as the backbone of Hong
Kong's transport system" and to give "priority [to rail development] in government's plan for infrastructure
development." 260 The question that the TB has so far been unwilling to consider is whether substantially
expanding the railway network is possible if new railway projects must continue to provide a commercial
return. 261
The TB would argue that it has already committed to several heavy rail expansion plans that will cost
billions of dollars to implement (see Table 7.1 below). 262 The issue is not that government has no plans to
expand rail service but whether changing the financing mechanism would allow dramatic increases in rail
service provision to major residential areas - areas that would already be served by rail in other wealthy
cities. Hong Kong's rail financing policy is actually holding back the extension of medium and light rail to
areas with relatively high densities. The failure to go ahead with plans for a South Island Line (SIL) despite
the existence of large population centers on Hong Kong Island South is a good example of this fact.
260
The rail-led transport strategy was articulated in Transport Bureau (1999), Hong Kong Moving Ahead and
Transport Bureau (2000), Second Railway Development Strategy, Hong Kong: HKSAR Government.
261 The first page of RDS2 states that the "government acknowledges that any new railway project will have to
provide a commercial return." Transport Department (2000), p.1.
262 RDS2 outlined six new rail projects: the Shatin to Central Link, the Island Line Extension, the Kowloon
Southern Link, the Northern Link, the Regional Express Line, and the Port Rail Line. However, the report also
highlights various rail lines that would be desirable but have not been given high priority, such as a South Island
Line (SIL).
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