CO129-544-19 Erection of a country bungalow for the Governor 18-7-1933 - 20-9-1933 — Page 6

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CONFIDENTIAL:

Aust

GOVERNMent houSE.

REOLIT

HONG KONG,

18th July, 1933.

2 FAUG 1933

C. O. REGY

Sir,

(4) on 92609/32

With reference to your confidential

despatch of the 22nd October, 1932, on the subject of

the erection of a country bungalow at Fanling for the

use of the Governor, I have the honour to inform you

that on tenders being invited for the erection of the

bungalow, the lowest figure offered for the house was

$151,264, to which had to be added the sum of $11,500. for foundations already prepared. This figure was so

greatly in excess of the estimates made by the Public

Works Department (which were based on the only available

data for Government buildings in that part of the New Territories) that I decided that it could not be treated

seriously and instructed the department to call for

fresh tenders at the same time making economies in the

equipment of the bungalow. The lowest of the new tenders

amounted to $84,031 and I was advised that no further

reduction could be looked for, the main reason for the

excess over the original estimate being attributed to

the difficulty of inducing first quality artisans to work

for normal wages at so great a distance from the amenities

of town life. This conclusion was foreshadowed in the

recommendation

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

SIR P. CUNLIFFE-LISTER, G.B.E., M.C., M.P.,

&c.,

&c.,

&c.

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