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Wednesday, July 4, 1973
Their talks aimed at eliciting from each of the consortia firm
indications (but not firm commitments) as to the credit terus they would
offer, the pricing methods and procedures they would adopt, and the overall
price they would be likely to charge, for a single contract to construct and
equip the first four stages of the Mass Transit Railway.
In reply to a question from the Hon. James Wu on whether there would
be a general debate in the Legislative Council on the scheme before the
award of contracts, Mr. Haddon-Cave assured him that there would be several
opportunities for debate.
He said he had in mind debates on two pieces of legislation now being
prepared as a matter of urgency at the request of the steering group.
The first one is designed to empower the government compulsorily to
acquire land, including rights and easements in land and buildings, for the
purposes of providing work sites, station entrances and other facilities.
The other piece of legislation is intended to provide for the
ostablishment of a Mass Transit Railway Corporation, which would be set up as a
statutory corporation with responsibilities for overseeing and co-ordinating
the design, firancing, construction and equipment of the railway, and for
operating and maintaining the system after completion,
Mr. Haddon Cave hoped to introduce both bills into the council before the end of this year or, preferably, before any contract (or contracts) is
awarded for the construction.
If possible, he said it is the government's view that such contract
or contracts should be entered into by the new railway corporation rather
than the government, so as to avoid any later legal complications involved in the government assigning the contract or contracts to the corporation.
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