TNAG-0424-FCO40-470-Construction-of-an-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 154

(w/191).

SOLE REFERENCES TO THE TIMETABLE FOR STARTING THE ITS CONTRACT

72

108

TELEGRAM, HADDON-CAVE TO GLAVES-SMITH, 2/3/73

"The impression we got from the November talks in London was that it would be another 12 to 18 months before the British Group would be able to quote prices, and it looked at that stage that our target date of January 1974 for the commencement of construction might be delayed by 12 months or

We are, so if we chose a single-contract approach. of course, anxious to see construction starting as soon as possible (though target date would be pushed forward if the period of construction under a single contract approach was shorter than under a multi- contract approach and/or if the terms of a particular consortium's offer looked sufficiently attractive to justify some delay)."

(My underlining)

ASTON'S RECORD OF FELL'S CALL ON HE, 19/3/73

"The Governor said that he personally did not mind. if the project started late, his main concern was that the completion of the first 4 stages and the running of the first train should not be delayed."

144 HK GOVT RECORD OF 1ST SESSION OF MEETING WITH

BRITISH GROUP, 19/3/73

"17. Copies of a bar chart prepared by the Steering Group, setting out estimated construction programmes under the multi-contract and single-contract approaches, were handed over to the British group..." (Copy attached. This envisages a "Multi-contract" construction period of late 773 early/79, and a "Single-contract" period of early/75 early/79.)

"18... Hr Scott (GEC) commented that the lower portion of the bar chart, which related to the single-contract approach, seemed unduly pessimistic. In their supplementary proposals of December 1972, the British Group has put forward a timetable which envisaged negotiation of the contract price in October 1973, and commencement of construction in January 1974.... Mr Newall (Costains) (said that) the British Group had always been thinking in terms of a 5-year construction period, beginning in January 1974 and ending in January 1979, rather than a 4-year period as depicted.

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