CO129-503-1 Development of Hong Kong Harbour 6-12-1926 - 28-10-1927 — Page 51

Hong Kong redging: Sub-Committee.

Draft Reply for consideration at Wednesday's

Committee.

51

Our opinion is asked in regard to proposed dredging

operations in Hong Kong Harbour.

We understand that it i

proposed to place an aerodrome on the land which is being re-

claimed at Kaitak, at the head of Kaulung Bay. The sche:

hitherto contemplate i, has apparently been to obtain the filling

material for this reclamation from the neighbouring hill front,

at a cost of $738,000 (£73,800) spread over a period of 34 years.

The proposal put forward in the governor's telegram of 5th

Sarch is that the filling shall be obtained from dredging in

the harbour at a cost of X1,491,000 (£149,000), but in a period

of only là years. It is further indicated that a firm of Dutch

contractors has been at work at the neighbouring Fortuguese port

of Macao, and that the foregoing price contemplates the removal

of the plant of this firm from Vacao to Hong Kong, the firm in

question becoming the contractors for the dredging.

8. Ne desire to make one preliminary observation. It

common experience in other parts of the world that when a firm

of contractors is approaching the completion of a considerable

contract, that the agents of the firm look round the neighbourhoo

in a suggestive frame of mind with a view to further employent

for their plant, and the avoidance of its removal to a distance.

It is necessary, therefore, not to attach undue importance to the

economies which are offered, since it may well be that even the

reduced money would be better spent with some other object.

3. It is quite likely that there are urgent reasons for the provision of an aerodrome in the Colony, not improbably not for

From this point of view a saving of some

defensive reasons.

two years in the reclaiming of the land may, we can quite

imagine, be of orucial importance, and the significance of

this saving will not be diminished by charging the additional

cost against the harbour.

4. What we have, therefore, to consider is whether an expendit

of /