The contractor of the Central Reclamation Phase III project has lodged a claim for 280 million HK dollars (35.9 million US dollars) compensation to the Hong KongSpecial Administrative Region (SAR) government, a Hong Kong official said Wednesday.

Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen told theLegislative Council that the contents of the claim concerned the delay and related expenditure resulting from the works suspension.

The main contract of the Central Reclamation Phase III CRIII") works was awarded to the Leighton - China State - Van Oord Joint Venture ("the Contractor") on Feb. 10, 2003, with a contract sum of 3,790 million HK dollars (486 million US dollars). Pending the outcome of the CRIII judicial review lodged by the Society for Protection of the Harbor, the SAR government suspended the scheduled marine piling and reclamation works under the CRIII contract during the period from Sept. 28, 2003 to March 9, 2004. Hong Kong's High Court refused on March 9, 2004, the judicial review.

In addition, the marine works had been disturbed by a green group.

The contractor submitted on April 17, 2004, a consolidated claim, the contents of which concerned the delay and the related expenditure resulting from the suspension of works.

According to the preliminary information provided by the contractor, the amount claimed is about 7 percent of the contract sum.

The Central Reclamation Phase III (CRIII) Project, with a totalreclamation area of 18 hectares, is aimed to resolve the traffic jam in the Central District of Hong Kong Island. The whole projectis scheduled from August 2003 to September 2007.