Flag A
30
Mr Youdé
CONFIDENTIAL
covering SECRET
302
PLA
4KK 2.4
A
HONG KONG MASS TRANSIT SYSTEM
1.
The Anglo-Italian consortium have agreed to try to improve
their bid to meet Hong Kong's requirements before the deadline.
The Governor has apparently made it known to them that, provided
there is a fixed price in the offer, it does not necessarily
have to be within the 5,000 million dollar limit and could at
this stage include an escalation clause of some kind. He is
therefore doing what he can to help them get a valid bid on the
table.
2.
I attach a letter which I have received from Mr Royce
in the DTI covering a draft message to the Governor which he has
submitted to his Secretary of State. I have commented to Mr Royce
that the Governor will not like the reference to a visit "towards
the end of (next) week". The deadline is Sunday 2 December and a
visit beginning on the Friday would almost certainly be too late.
Mr Royce said that the consortium hoped in fact to go on Wednesday
but were unwilling to commit themselves. This seems an unnecessary
and possibly dangerous hesitation. But if the Governor does not
like the way the message is phrased, he will presumably say so. Subsequently the message has been amended to read "next wednesday"
Dese
A C Stuart
Hong Kong & Indian Ocean
Dept.
23 November 1973
Sir D Watson
PS to Mr Royle
CONFIDENTIAL
с
Page 90Page 91
fo