CONFIDENTIAL
Note No. 16
VISIT OF DEPUTY
UNDER-SECRETARY OF STATE
(SIR LESLIE MONSON)
TO HONG KONG OCTOBER, 1969
ΚΑΙ TAK AIRPORT
In his speech to Legislative Council on the 1st October
the Governor said of this project:
"I think here we must now regrettably forget about
any loan from HMG in the U.K. and decide the issue on
its own merits and in the light of the probability of
having either to finance the whole project directly ourselves or perhaps with the help of contractor or other finance".
He went on to say that the project would shortly be put to Executive Council and Finance Committee.
2. In our view this is a correct conclusion. Our
failure at official level to secure assistance for the project has yet to be reported to Lord Shepherd and this will be done shortly; but our advice will surely be that in the present economic climate no better results are likely to be obtained by pursuing this matter with other departments at ministerial level. There remains the possibility that we might be able to give some modest contribution towards the cost of improvements in the aeronautical communications system in respect of which Hong Kong has submitted C.D. & W. applications (already flatly rejected by ODM). At ministerial level
and we
we could perhaps make a bid for some assistance in this direction from Board of Trade civil aviation votes:
may advise the Minister accordingly.
3.
Notwithstanding the Governor's statement, there is bound
to be a residual interest in H.M.G.'s attitude towards this
project on the part of officials and unofficials alike.
It
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