RATIONALE
PEP 1 is seeking to maximise the potential for UK industry arising
from the largest civil engineering project in the world, the Hong
Kong Port and Airport Development Scheme (PADS).
The Branch is responsible for supporting UK industry in winning
major overseas project business in both the port and airport
sectors as well as tunnelling, rail links and other civil
engineering sectors all of which feature in the PADS project. In
addition the Branch has responsibility for maximising UK companies'
pursuit of other projects and the sub-contract opportunities
arising from major projects worldwide by application of techniques
successfully employed on the Channel Tunnel Project. The Hong Kong
PADS Project is a high prestige project offering substantial
opportunities for UK industry including small and medium sized
companies. The scale of the project, the diversity of the
opportunities, combined with current levels of project activity
within PEP1 and the apparent lack of sufficient resource of British
Trade Commission in relation to the project scale suggests that
additional resources need to be directed to maximise the potential
for UK industry.