Wednesday, June 7, 1972
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He said it was clear that an enormous sum of money would have to be
raised. There was a need therefore to find out whether sufficient outside
capital finance could be obtained on appropriate terms as regards interest
rates and repayment arrangements.
"Clearly, it is incumbent on Government to be very sure of all the
financial aspects of the project before committing the community to such
tremendous expenditure. In particular, we must not put either our ability
to finance our other commitments or our liquidity or our fiscal policies at
risk," Mr. Haddon-Cave said.
Warning
The Financial Secretary ended his statement with a note of warning.
He said: "If in the end it does not prove possible to build the mass transit
railway, I must make it clear that the measures needed to ensure that people
can continue to get to and from work and for goods to continue moving will
need to be more and more severe as time goes on.
"They will certainly not be popular and will be greatly criticised
by some. Yet they will be necessary in the general interest if Hong Kong is
to continue to function as a viable community in the years to come.
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Mr. Haddon-Cave said it was to avoid having to introduce such severe
measures that Government had taken a decision in principle to build the mass
transit railway and he assured Council that every effort would be made to
resolve the financial problems involved.
The following is the full text of the Financial Secretary's statement:-
"The short
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