TNAG-0426-FCO40-472-Construction-of-an-underground-railway-system-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 139

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RECEIVED M

2 DEC ́973

HKK 21/4

(376

HOUSE OF COMMONS

USE

LONDON SWIA OAA

From Nigel Spearing, H.P.

The Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London, SW1.

Dean Anthay Royle,

Нколод

Rec. and Ack. 18/12/73. M-KAIO

Department for draft reply please тр

ghers as Royle.

from

13th December, 1973.

Thank you for your letter of the 7th December concerning the proposed underground railway system in Hong Kong. I have taken an interest in this as I have been closely concerned with transport planning in London and the buoyant demand for public transport in Hong Kong is thus of interest.

Perhaps it would be possible for me to look at the three studies which you have listed in your letter, either at your library or at the office of the Hong Kong Government in London. Your letter does not make it clear how the proposals for the underground system emerged from these studies and at what stage the general finance of such a system was placed within the expenditure on transport in Hong Kong as a whole. Your letter assumes that it will be possible to pay capital sums, and interest, of some £400 million year from the fares paid on the proposed system. You mention that some 60% of this capital will be available on export credits. Perhaps you could enlarge on this and state where the capital will be from and what sort of rates of interest would be required for such sums.

If it would simplify matters, I would be glad to talk to anybody at the Hong Kong Office in London about this direct, but am writing to you in the first instance.

Зам Zoum inneh

Nisel Jeans

263)