CONFIDENTIAL
H&B 243/11
103
136524
MDHOAN 5262
TOP COPY Q DIST
CONFIDENTIAL
FM FCO
TO IMMEDIATE HONG KONG
TELNO 1540
OF 191525Z JULY 89
(98)
YOUR TELNO 2324: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
1.
WE NEED URGENTLY TO CLARIFY DETAILS OF THE LIST OF PROJECTS TO WHICH YOU WISH TO ALLOCATE THE POUNDS 4.5 MILLION FOR EMERGENCY
ACCOMMODATION FOR VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE. YOU WILL RECALL THAT THE ESTIMATE IN YOUR TELNO 2055 FOR THE WHITEHEAD 2(C) PROJECT
WAS HKD 30 MILLION. BUT THIS FIGURE SUBSEQUENTLY CHANGED TO HKD
10 MILLION, AS CONFIRMED IN YOUR TELNO 2324. GRATEFUL TO KNOW THE REASONS FOR THIS, TO ENABLE US TO EXPLAIN THE CHANGE TO THE TREASURY. IS IS AN IMPORTANT POINT BECAUSE THE TREASURY ARE
LOOKING PARTICULARLY CAREFULLY AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROJECT COST AND NUMBERS TO BE ACCOMMODATED. THEY HAVE NOTICED THAT YOUR ORIGINAL LEI YUE MUN PROPOSAL INVOLVED EXPENSE OF POUNDS 4 MILLION TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION FOR 7000, THE WHITEHEAD 2(C) PROJECT (ORIGINAL ESTIMATE) WOULD HAVE BEEN POUNDS 2.5 MILLION TO ACCOMMODATE 9,000, THE LATEST ESTIMATE APPEARS TO REQUIRE LESS THAN POUNDS 1 MILLION, BUT PRESUMABLY THE SAME NUMBER OF BOAT PEOPLE COULD BE ACCOMMODATE. OR DO YOU ENVISAGE SOME FORM OF COST
SHARING BETWEEN HMG/HKG?
2.
FORMAL APPROVAL OF THE DISBURSEMENT OF THE POUNDS 4.5 MILLION CAN ONLY TAKE PLACE IF THE TREASURY ARE SATISFIED THAT EACH ELEMENT
IN THE PACKAGE IS JUSTIFIED AND THAT THE PROPOSALS OVERALL ARE
REASONABLE AND COST EFFECTIVE. TO ENABLE US TO MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE CASE, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL IF YOU COULD GIVEN US AS MUCH CHAPTER AND VERSE AS POSSIBLE.
3. WE ARE FAXING TO YOU A LIST OF ALL PROJECTS/EXPENSES AS WE
BELIEVE THEY ARE NOW PROPOSED. GRATEFUL IF YOU COULD CONFIRM THAT OUR FIGURES ARE CORRECT, AND IF YOU COULD ADD BESIDE EACH ITEM THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE YOU ENVISAGE EACH WILL PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION FOR. GRATEFUL FOR REPLY DESKBY 20073OZ TO ENABLE
US TO PROCEED.
HOWE
YYYY