XCS(73)8
(j)
(k)
SECRET
July 1974:
12
The Steering Group (or, preferably, the MTR Corporation if it has been established by this time) would issue a Letter of Intent to the selected consortium, signifying the client's firm intention to enter into a contract with the consortium. (This Letter of Intent would enable the consortium to start mobilising their resources for the works involved, and would authorise the consortium to incur, within reasonable limits, expenditure for this purpose).
July to October 1974:
Final negotiations and drafting
of the contract and related financial agreements would take place.
(1)
October 1974:
The contract and related financial
21
agreements would be executed and construction would begin on site.
While the sequence outlined above envisages construction beginning in October 1974, compared with early 1974 as originally intended, it is nevertheless an ambitious programme which will require very substantial efforts by all concerned. On the other hand, the timing indicated for the various steps in the sequence assumes that two or more consortia would continue to be involved throughout steps (a) to (i) set out in paragraph 20 above. Should it be possible to select one consortium at step (e), the programme could be shortened by about three months. Furthermore, it is proposed that special arrangements should be made for the following works to be started in advance of the main MTR contract:
(a)
(b)
a minor contract, involving approximately $7 million, to be let by local tender for part of the civil engineering works (namely site formation, drainage works and the construction of a pedestrian subway) required at Kowloon Bay Maintenance Depot: this work is expected to take about nine months to complete, and it is important that the contract should be let before the end of the year so as to ensure that the workshops and the administration building, which are critical items in the project programme, will be completed in time;
in a number of cases where short sections of the MTR conflict with approved highway projects, work on the MTR sections to be brought forward to coincide with the highway works, with the same contractor building both structures: this is desirable in that substantial economies would be achieved, and later engineering difficulties and traffic disruption would be minimised. (Funds have already been approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council for such arrangements in two specific minor cases).
SECRET