CONFIDENTIAL
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 3531
OF 23090OZ OCTOBER 89
CONFIDENTIAL
TOP COPY Q DIST?
HK 8
243 /11
102304
MDHIAN 0994
YOUR TELNO 2115: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: UK FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
A. DESIGN CAPACITY. THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE REQUESTED FOLLOWS BY FAX.
B. IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE TO BUILD THE TELEGRAPH BAY CENTRE WITHOUT
ROAD ACCESS BUT THIS WOULD INVOLVE SUPPLYING THE WORKS SITE BY SEA. THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING THE ROAD WILL BE APPROXIMATELY HKD 5 MILLION WHICH IS PROBABLY LESS THAN THE ADDITIONAL COSTS INVOLVED IN
SUPPLYING THE WORKS SITE BY SEA.
C. THE SITE AT TELEGRAPH BAY IS ON RECENTLY RECLAIMED LAND WHICH IS
LIABLE TO SUBSIDENCE. WE HAVE DECIDED THAT THE BALANCE OF ADVANTAGE
LIES IN USING ONLY SINGLE STOREY STRUCTURES RATHER THAN 3 STOREY
BUILDINGS WHICH WOULD NECESSITATE EXPENSIVE SITE FORMATION WORK. THE ESTIMATES ARE BASED ON THE SINGLE STOREY TILDEN TYPE STRUCTURE
WHICH WAS USED AT STAGE 1 OF THE WHITEHEAD PROJECT. A FULL SCHEDULE
OF COSTS ON THE TELEGRAPH BAY PROJECT FOLLOWS BY FAX.
D. NO DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE ON THE LONG TERM USE OF THE TELEGRAPH BAY SITE BUT THE MOST LIKELY USE WOULD BE PUBLIC HOUSING. THE TIMING
OF THE LONG TERM DEVELOPMENT IS DEPENDENT UPON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A
NEW HIGHWAY ALONG THE WESTERN SIDE OF HONG KONG ISLAND. OUR BEST
GUESS AT THIS STAGE IS THAT THE SITE WILL BE READY FOR FULL
DEVELOPMENT IN 3-5 YEARS TIME. THIS OF COURSE LIMITS THE LIFE OF ANY
VBP CENTRE WHICH MIGHT BE BUILT ON THE SITE.
E. THE ANNUAL COST OF TRANSPORTING WATER OF TAI A CHAU IS ESTIMATED
AT HKD22 MILLION. THE ANNUAL COST OF TRANSPORTING SEWAGE FROM THE
ISLAND WOULD BE ABOUT HKD20 MILLION.
F. WE ARE UNABLE TO OPERATE A SUSPENSE ACCOUNT TO COVER THE
REMAINING WORKS IN OUR CURRENT PROGRAMME WITHOUT A FIRM INDICATION
THAT FURTHER UK FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE. THE
PRESENT POSITION IS THAT WE DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO COMPLETE
THE WORK ON STAGE 2 OF THE HIGH ISLAND PROJECT. THE ADDITIONAL COSTS
OF THE RECEPTION CENTRE AT TAI A CHAU AND THE FENCING AT SEK KONG
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