Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, at a media session after attending a radio programme today (January 1):
 
Reporter: Secretary, you said that the estimate, the cost of $580 billion is a preliminary estimate. So when do you think the Government can provide us with a more concrete number and do you expect that figure to go further up?
 
Secretary for Development: First of all, we have been stressing that the study is still ongoing, and it will be until some time in 2025 that we will approach the Legislative Council for seeking funding for the works. So it is now actually premature to come to a more precise estimate on the works requirements, particularly when we have yet to confirm a lot of the alignment for the transport network and also we have yet to go into the detailed works design, like measuring the quality of the ground situation and exact location, exactly how we are going to reclaim the three islands. So we have recently undertaken to the Legislative Council that probably we will by the time of 2024, when we have progressed further with our study, give them another periodic update on the cost estimate, but that will still not be the final estimate until we really approach the Finance Committee for funding.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

Ends/Sunday, January 1, 2023
Issued at HKT 11:18

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