Mr Glover
1
UNCLASSIFIED
MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE
HILD 406/2
R+
02 JU 1993
ра
HONG KONG CONSULATE-GENERAL-REVIEW: PASSPORT OPERATION COSTS:
PEAK YEARS
46
2015
1. A provision of 1975
metres square
on two
floors
is
allocated for passport processing in the new building. There is a public entrance on a lower floor shared by passport and visa sections. The space provision is intended to allow for a public waiting
and area
public counters and offices to
accommodate 71 staff.
2.
The space provision is not sufficient to cope with the potential volume of passport applications. Our options detail the staffing and estimated additional office space required to process passports. The costings are those for the first peak year including the cost of fitting out additional offices to FCO standard and requirements. Fitting out costs are recurring in rented offices. Costs do not include rent during fitting out time.
3.
=
The cost of renting office space in Hong Kong will vary depending on the location of the offices and fitting-out. OED informed us that the cost of commercial rent is between £360 a 36-50 HK$ per square foot per month and fitting out square metre. Taking a middle range of 43HK$ a square foot and an exchange rate of 11.8 HK$ £1 this is equivalent to £470 per square metre per annum. We have used this figure to cost additional office space. We have assumed that the passport office on the present space provision could cope with a maximum of 153,360 personal passport applications. of additional staff is calculated on the latest figures available, FINMIS saving costs for 1991/92. We have assumed that additional office space would be required in the same ratio
the present as
of with the increased volume cope with work. In productivity terms we have used 77.65 passport issue per sq metre per annum (153360 applicants divided by available space 1975 sq metres).
to cope
The cost
4. The costings are therefore approximate and a snapshot of the year 2003, the first of the peak years. A full discounted cost benefit analysis for at least the first 11 years will be necessary to enable a fuller comparison of the costs.
UNCLASSIFIED MANAGEMENT IN CONFIDENCE