SECRET
2.
we hope to have enough on which to decide whether to plump for one of the consortia or to drop the consortium approach and go to tender for a series of separate contracts. In the latter event it would of course be open to any consortium or to any of their members to bid for individual contracts.
5.
You may have noticed from reading the Ex. Co. paper that our expert group have worked up a slight preference for the multi-contract approach. Some of them hold this view with passionate conviction, and amongst these is the Director of Public Works. Others are less convinced, and lay greater stress on the relief of managerial responsibility for the Mass Transit Authority and the greater ECGD credit involved in the consortium approach, which might offset the probably higher price that would have to be paid. These are sincere views held by men who have gone into all the angles in great depth.
6.
I myself believe that the choice lies between a consortium, if it can be sufficiently definite about a sufficiently favourable price (but not unless), and a multi-contract approach which would be limited to about 15 separate contracts, i.e. all would be very large contracts by any standards, and would thus probably qualify for special ECGD treatment. But this is still a personal view.
7.
We intend to conclude our discussions with the consortia by April and return to Ex. Co. for the decision on whether to close with one of them or to proceed to go to tender. We expect to go to Ex. Co. not later than May.
8.
It is important that you personally should understand all this because the implication is that the British consortium will have to have produced its last and best offer by April. No doubt their
ECREI
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.