CONFIDENTIAL
機密
5
XCC(76)77
being awarded the tender, an exporter of explosives manufactured by an American company. The export of dynamite is presently controlled under the Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations, but the precise categorisation of water-gel under these regulations is presently unclear. If, therefore, it is considered that export should be permitted, it will be necessary to ensure that the legislation is so amended as to impose an unchallengeable licensing control on exports of water-gel, and to inform the applicant companies that exports may be stopped, without reasons being given, at any time under the legislation. But, if it is decided that exports should not be allowed, it will be necessary to renegotiate with the companies the basis on which manufacture will be permitted.
13
A further consideration to be taken into account before tendering is approved is security. It has been suggested that, because the menu - facturing plant will be situated within Stonecutters Island, and the operat- ing staff would need to have access to the Government Explosives Depot within the military ammunition depot, there would be security advantages in the operating company being a British company. Headquarters British Forces has confirmed that it would be much simpler to enforce the exist- ing security regulations, together with any others which may prove necessary both in normal circumstances and in an emergency situation, if the firm is British administered; it would, therefore, be preferable to have a British rather than a foreign-owned firm with permanent tenure on Stonecutters Island if other considerations are not paramount. Thus both the political (paragraph 12) and the security (paragraph 13) aspects of the project, as far as they go, favour the grant of the land to a British company.
14
It is considered that tender procedures should be used for the following reasons:
(a) Both applicants are using an American process; the
products of both use an American trade name and both compete in the open market, with du Pont presently having much larger sales and having achieved better results in Hong Kong. In this con- text it should be noted that the ICI small diameter cartridged water-gel has yet to be demonstrated in Hong Kong as an acceptable substitute for dynamite on hard rock tunnelling. Precisely the same security arrangements would be required for both companies.
(b) It has long been established practice that where there
is competition for land, it is sold by competitive means, regardless of the nationality of the applicants.
CONFIDENTIAL
機密