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6. THE REASON THE COMMITTEE BELIEVED THE SIZE OF THE BUILDING WOULD NOT BE REDUCED IS THAT WE WERE TOLD JUST THAT BY OED AS LATE AS IN NEWEY'S FAX OF 11/11. THE QUESTIONS RAISED BY MY COLLEAGUES WERE NOT RELATED TO FUNDS BEING 'UNDER GREAT
PRESSURE' BUT SIMPLY WHETHER THE PROJECT WAS WITHIN BUDGET, CURRENCY FLUCTUATIONS AND NECESSARY DESIGN CHANGES EXCEPTED. AS YOU WILL RECALL, LOCAL ADVICE WAS AGAINST THE FARRELL DESIGN PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT THEY HAD NEVER BUILT ANYTHING IN HONG KONG - AND HAD THEREFORE LIMITED EXPERIENCE OF MATERIALS AND COSTS AND THAT THEIR DESIGN AND COSTING PROPOSALS WERE JUDGED UNREALISTIC. IT WAS THIS FEAR OF LATER CUTS THAT WAS EXPRESSED LAST SUMMER. YOU WILL RECALL THAT MY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COST-SAVING MODIFICATIONS WERE REJECTED.
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7. COLLEAGUES' OTHER MAIN CONCERN IS FOR THE IMPACT ON RECURRENT COSTS OF ANY SAVINGS. THIS IS, FOR ME AND FOR THE BRITISH COUNCIL, MUCH THE MOST SERIOUS CONCERN. THE FACT THAT I CANNOT ADD ONE LEI TO MY TINY AND OVER-LOADED MANAGEMENT TEAM (RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY OTHER NON-BTC STAFF TOO) CONCENTRATES THE MIND. WE ALL BELIEVE IT ESSENTIAL THAT THE ADDITIONAL RECURRENT COSTS BE WEIGHED IN THE SCALES AND FIRM ASSURANCES GIVEN AT THIS STAGE THAT WE WILL NOT AT THE END OF THE DAY PAY FOR THE BUILDING WITH BUDGETARY COSTS IN STAFF. THAT WOULD BE FOR MOST OF US THE WORST POSSIBLE OUTCOME.
8. WE ARE WORKING ON SOME ROUGH COSTINGS OF THE VARIOUS PROPOSED COSTS: SEE MIFT.
9. ALL THIS IS AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF THE PES FORECAST OUTLINED IN THE CHIEF CLERK'S CIRCULAR TO HEADS OF MISSION (FCO TEL 246 TO ABIDJAN) AND, MORE PARTICULARLY, THE FOLLOW-UP TEL 275 OUTLINING THE ''PROPERLY STRUCTURED DISCUSSION'' TO BE PREPARED BY AUS 'COMMANDS''. SINCE DRAFTING THE ABOVE I HAVE SEEN FCO TEL 38 TO ABIDJAN.
10. AS I HAVE BEEN SAYING SINCE LAST SUMMER, THE CHIEF CONCERN HERE IS LESS FOR THE BUILDING THAN FOR THE FUNCTIONS AND THE PEOPLE NEEDED TO CARRY THEM OUT. WE SHALL BE JUDGED ABOVE ALL BY THE EFFICIENCY OF THE OPERATION. GIVEN A CHOICE I WOULD ARGUE FOR PEOPLE RATHER THAN BUILDING.
11. WE LOOK FORWARD TO DISCUSSING THIS WITH MR HUM WHEN HE VISITS LATER IN THE WEEK AND WILL CONVENE THE LOCAL GROUP SUBSEQUENTLY WHEN THE INFORMATION HAS REACHED US AND WE HAVE A STEER ON THE
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