The Finance Committee of the Legislative Council today (10th) approved additional funding for the expansion project of the Legislative Council Building, involving about 390 million yuan, and the project cost estimate has been increased from 1.17 billion yuan to 1.56 billion yuan.
At the meeting, some Members criticized the government's estimation of a huge gap and poor performance.
The Director of Architectural Services, Mr. Ho Wing-yin, explained that the difficulty of estimating the cost of various projects is different. This project is rare in the market, and the estimation is more difficult.
The Pakatan Harapan Lim Kin-fung counter-proposed that the Legislative Council could be held at night, allowing workers to start work during the day and saving construction costs.
The Secretary-General of the Legislative Council, Chen Weian, later responded that there is no plan to change the meeting to the evening.
Xie Weiquan questioned that it was not just the cost overrun of workers
Xie Weiquan in the field of architecture, surveying and urban planning pointed out that the huge gap in the government's estimates in just a few months is undeniably bad. We should pay attention to whether the budget deviation is mainly due to labor costs rather than material costs.
Ho Wing-yin said that the power system and fire protection system designed by the winning contractor are more stable than the government's original design. For example, the government originally expected to connect the new water pipes to the old water pipes, but the tender proposed to replace all the new water pipes.
She also pointed out that the government has different difficulties in estimating the cost of various projects. This time it is a special situation, and the budget is very difficult. Therefore, it is only after "market baptism" that a more accurate estimate can be obtained.
Councillors advocating night-time meetings, Chen Wei'an falls off the gate: no plans yet
Lin Jianfeng said that regarding the expansion of the Legislative Council exceeding the budget, there are voices in the outside world that the Legislative Council is "self-enriching" and strict with others, but this time the situation is very special. It is reasonable for workers to start work at night, and it is reasonable to provide "duplex".
He countered that the Legislative Council could meet at night and workers work during the day to reduce construction costs.
He asked whether the estimates had taken into account the epidemic, and hoped that the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) could play a monitoring role to ensure that the works were completed on time.
Ho Wing-yin believes that the tenderer's consideration has been reflected in the bid price; the Secretary-General of the Legislative Council, Chen Weian, pointed out that the Legislative Council has no plans to hold a meeting in the evening.
Legislative Council Expansion Exceeded Estimates Sources believe the underestimation of the cost: Originally wanted to "generally stir-fry beef river" Legislative Council expansion overrun by 30% News: Nearly 400 million additional appropriations are required to cost 1.56 billion Liang Junyan: The Legislative Council expansion will cost 1.17 billion and will be completed on the same day in 2025 Starting from the third floor of CITIC