Hong Kong $4 Billion Border Project Running Late, SCMP Says

(Bloomberg) -- A $4 billion border crossing between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will be delayed until the middle of next year as a key contractor, Leighton Contractors (Asia) Ltd., encounters problems, the South China Morning Post reported.

The border control point in the northeastern New Territories was due to be finished this year, the SCMP reported on Sunday.

Hong Kong’s government this month suspended Leighton, part of Australia’s CIMIC Group Ltd., from tendering for public works for 12 months over “construction issues” at a subway station. That was part of the fall-out from a safety investigation that also led to a management shake-up at railway operator MTR Corp.

Labor disputes have triggered delays at the border project, the SCMP cited one unnamed source as saying. An unnamed government spokeswoman referred to bad weather. The company declined to comment, when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Leighton is the main contractor on a HK$7.1 billion ($910 million) passenger terminal building at the Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai border crossing, the SCMP said. The overall HK$33.7 billion project was originally budgeted at HK$25 billion, the SCMP said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Eric Lam in Hong Kong at elam87@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: John McCluskey at j.mccluskey@bloomberg.net, Paul Panckhurst

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