Funding approved for Asian Development Fund
On February 20, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved Hong Kong’s contribution of US$26.25 million over nine years to the ninth replenishment of the Asian Development Fund (ADF).
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) established the fund in 1973 to provide concessionary lending to its most needy member countries. The objectives of the ADF are to reduce poverty and to improve the basic quality of life of the region’s poorest countries. These include projects for road improvement, power distribution, water supply and sanitation.
A Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government spokesman said Hong Kong’s contribution, spread out from 2009 to 2017, demonstrates its support for the ADB’s poverty reduction and development efforts. It also recognizes the ADB’s contribution to the development of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong joined the ADB in 1969 and has been a donor to the ADF since 1983. Prior to that, the territory was a beneficiary. From 1972 to 1980, Hong Kong obtained five ADB loans totaling US$101.5 million; all the loans were repaid in full by 1987.
Hong Kong has contributed to six previous replenishments of the ADF, in 1983, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Memo signed on express rail link
Hong Kong Secretary for Transport and Housing Eva Cheng and China’s Vice Minister of Railways Lu Dongfu on February 24 signed a memorandum of understanding on the technical arrangement for connecting the Mainland and Hong Kong sections of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Railway Link (XRL).
The Ministry of Railways will continue to enhance communication with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to meet the target of commencing construction of the Hong Kong section by the end of 2009 and for the subsequent implementation of the project. A detailed technical plan of the integration of the XRL Shenzhen and Hong Kong sections also has been devised. Relevant parties will continue to work on the implementation details, including operation and maintenance arrangements.
The XRL will run from West Kowloon in Hong Kong to Shibi in Guangzhou, with intermediate stations at Futian and Longhua in Shenzhen and Humen in Dongguan. Connected with the Beijing-Guangzhou Passenger Line and the Hangzhou-Fuzhou-Shenzhen Passenger Line, the project will integrate Hong Kong into the Mainland’s rapidly growing express rail network. Furthermore, through connection with the Pearl River Delta (PRD) Rapid Transit System, it will greatly increase accessibility between Hong Kong and the PRD.
The Hong Kong section will see a maximum train speed of 200 kph. Upon completion of the XRL, travel time between Hong Kong and Guangzhou will be shortened to 48 minutes. Commuters from Hong Kong will be able to reach such Mainland cities as Changsha and Xiamen in four hours, and Wuhan and Fuzhou in five hours. Travel time from Hong Kong to Shanghai will be eight hours, and from Hong Kong to Beijing will be 10 hours. Hong Kong's position as the PRD’s business center and the gateway to the Mainland will be further enhanced.
The XRL will carry an estimated 100,000 passengers daily by 2020 and 120,000 passengers by 2030, generating an expected economic benefit of US$10.64 billion over the next 50 years in terms of travel time saved. The rail project will create 5,500 jobs during construction and another 10,000 during its operation. Work is expected to start at the end of 2009 and completed before 2015.
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