The government announced on Friday that the Chief Executive in Council had approved the financial arrangement for the Smart and Green Mass Transit System (SGMTS) in East Kowloon, planning to invite tenders for the project in July, and three residential sites will be granted at nominal premium to the future franchisee.
The government said it targets to award the contract next year for commissioning the project on or before 2033.
Similar to the arrangements for the SGMTS in the Kai Tak project, a franchisee responsible for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance of the SGMTS will be selected through open tender for the East Kowloon Project, so that the expertise and financial capability of the private sector could be best utilised, a government spokesman said.
The government will also provide funding support for the East Kowloon Project through granting property development rights of three sites primarily for residential uses to the future franchisee, with a view to increasing incentives, as the present value of all projected revenues net of projected expenditures of the project would fall short of the expected return on capital, according to the spokesman.
This will also enhance the growth and vitality of the areas served by the SGMTS, and in turn strengthen the ridership of the SGMTS, the spokesman added.
The three sites are the Depot Site at Ma Yau Tong, the Kai Tak Site which comprises Sites 3E1 and 3E2 in Kai Tak, and the Cha Kwo Ling Road Site at Cha Kwo Ling Road and near Kwun Tong Road.
A tenderer will propose in its financial proposal a fixed sum payable to the government, which will serve as the key financial assessment criterion of the tender, and the government will grant the abovementioned three sites to the franchisee to be selected through open tender by way of private treaty grants at nominal premium, while the franchisee has to pay the Government the fixed sum specified in its tender.
Upon completion of the East Kowloon Project, it's expected that the commuting time to and from Po Tat/Sau Mau Ping areas to either Yau Tong or Choi Hung will be around 10 to 15 minutes, which is about half of that for road-based traffic, the spokesman said.
Along the alignment, over 300,000 residents will be served, covering more than 40 housing estates, more than 50 key medical and social welfare facilities/venues, including medical facilities, services for the elderly, vocational rehabilitation services, rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities, and rehabilitation services for the elderly, as well as more than 35 schools, the spokesman added.
