CONFIDENTIAL
XCC(92)70
Cost Of The 1997 Meetings
16
The overall assessment of Financial and Staffing Implications at paragraphs 14 - 17 of memorandum XCC(92)26 at Annex A remains valid. While it is too early to estimate the cost of hiring the convention venue and providing the necessary facilities, it is expected that this will be a significant item of expenditure. The conversion of hotel rooms would involve blocking off these rooms for a long period of time for technical and fitting out work. Likewise, substantial expenditure would be incurred in building and furnishing modular offices at the Convention Centre.
17
We have received in confidence information on the costs to the respective governments of holding the 1982 Meetings in Toronto and those in 1988 in Berlin. It cost the Canadian government the equivalent of HK$30 million in 1982 and the West German government HK$120 million in 1988. About 50% of the cost of the Toronto Meetings and 70% of the cost of the Berlin Meetings was spent on rental, construction and furnishing of offices. The large difference in the budget for the two meetings is mainly due to the fact that temporary offices were constructed for the Berlin Meetings but converted hotel rooms were used in the case of the Toronto Meetings. An estimate of the cost for the Hong Kong Meetings can be made only after the Bank/Fund have at a later stage considered in detail the question of space allocation in the Convention Centre and the need for additional facilities to be provided in the two adjacent hotels.
18
It would be necessary to ask the Chinese side to note and acknowledge that the bulk of the expenditure for the event would be incurred after 30 June 1997 and would therefore be met by the Hong Kong SAR Government. We would also need to point out to them that HKG will need to obtain Finance Committee's agreement before any formal application can be submitted to the Bank/Fund.
Management of the 1997 Meetings
19
The management of the planning work would be undertaken by the Monetary Affairs Branch. The Branch has gained valuable experience from its work over the past year on the planning of this year's Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Hong Kong, although the ADB Meeting is much smaller in scale, with about 2 000 participants in comparison to about 10 000 participants expected for the Bank/Fund's
Executive Council