with the Tunnel Company.
1
was
3. The background to the Question is this: as
hi Apol Vows, Agreement in principle has been reached between
the Cross-Harbour Tunnel Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong and
Lloyds Bank Ltd. for the financing of the construction
under Hong Kong harbour linking
tunnelį servi
of the proposed four-lane tunnel serving Hong Kong
island and the city of Kowloon.
Lloyds Bank have
agreed to provide a loan for up to £14 million (about
contact valur
75% of the total sest) repayable with 51% p.a. interest
over 7 years from completion of the tunnel, estimated
to take 3 years. The loan is to be guaranteed uncon-
ditionally by the Export Credits Guarantee Department.
The consulting engineers for the project are
4.
British
Scott, Wilson, Kirkpatrick & Partners, and
Freeman, Fox & Partners and it is hoped that a con-
tract for construction of the tunnel will be placed
in May with Costains, with whom the Tunnel Company are
now in detailed negotiation.
5. Apart from the Hong Kong Government the remaining shareholders arema to be :-
Wheelock Marden & Co. Ltd.; Hutchison International Ltd.:
The Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation; Kwon Wan Ltd.;
Sir Elly Kadoorie Succsns.
He of there are Hong Kong compances.
6. Negotiations for the financing of the tunnel have
been protracted for a variety of reasons, mainly com-
mercial. On the E.C.G.D. side, in order to satisfy
normal underwriting criteria, we have had to press for
adequate security for the guaranteed long-term loan,
bearing in mind that the shareholders are only putting
contact valua
up 25% of the capital cost of the project. In the
negotiations leading up to the agreement in principle
on finance the shareholders finally agreed to guarantee
loan repayments in proportion to their shareholdings,
and other security including a floating charge on the
company's assets has also been agreed.
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