6 May 1992
Car
Stephen
HKA 182/3
Foreign & Commonwealth
Office
CONFIDENTIAL
London SWIA 2AH
Pa
Hong Kong:
Award of the Bridge Contract
The Hong Kong Government will be announcing at 0500 BST on 7 May that the Anglo-Japanese consortium
(Trafalgar House, Costain and Mitsui) have won the contract to build the Tsing Ma bridge. The contract is worth about £550 million, with a UK content of about £250 million). The Governor has informed us in strict confidence of this decision.
As agreed, I enclose a form of words which the Prime Minister might use at Questions in the House on 7 May, or at another opportunity that day.
This contract will rightly be seen here as a major success for British industry. However, it has not gone to the lowest bidder. This has been acknowledged by the Hong Kong Government who have explained that Hyundai were unable to meet their requirements on capital, which are designed to ensure that the company does not run short of funds before the contract is completed. The Hong Kong Government are likely to face some criticism, in Hong Kong and from the losers in this competition, that they have handed the contract to the British-led consortium out of favouritism. It would therefore be helpful to the Hong Kong Government if the Prime Minister could refer to the fact that this contract was won in a fair fight, on its merits.
I am copying this letter to Peter Smith (DTI).
Ousere
де
J S Wall Esq CMG LVO 10 Downing Street
CONFIDENTIAL
(S L Gass)
Private Secretary
117