TNAG-0759-FCO40-963-Manufacture-and-storage-of-explosives-in-Hong-Kong-1978 — Page 103

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(d)

(e)

if a magazine could be made available in Stonecutters' Ammunition dump this would greatly reduce the land area required, and the land area fully or partially sterilised;

they would prefer operating as an independent industry than under a franchise."

The assumption of freedom to export is

again reflected in Nobel's brochure "Proposals relating to Plant Installation for Slurry Explosives

Manufacture in Hong Kong" where, in the assessment of viability in the general chapter on Land Area Requirements and Plant Layout, there is a passage reading:

"The project does of course suffer the limitation of a restricted market. Should substantial exports become a possibility, then the benefits of better utilisation of plant and personnel would be reflected in lower domestic prices.

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Of course, "restricted market" could be taken as restricted by the Government, but certainly we have always understood it to mean restricted by the limited potential in South-East Asia.

Again it is clear from the size of plant envisaged in the later brochure entitled "Land Area Requirements and Plant Layout", which was sent by Mr. Riley to Barnes under cover of his letter of 19th August 1977, that Nobel's were thinking in terms of a size of plant considerably larger than would be needed to replace the present total dynamite consumption in the local market.

In view of all this, therefore, it may help if I set out once more our thinking on this subject. The prime consideration of the Hong Kong Government is that of safety. It is hoped that, by the establishment of a cartridged slurry or water-gel plant in Hong Kong, the use of dynamite will cease. This would allow a significant improvement to existing margins of safety, especially in the daily trucking of dynamites to crowded urban areas. It will also remove the necessity for the storage of large stocks of explosives which at times exceed three months' supply. If the Government was the only consumer, this would Because, probably best be achieved by a franchise. however,

the Government cannot guarantee a stated and steady local market for any operator, it would not be in the interest of the operator to restrict his freedom in disposing of his product.

Indeed, as

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/can be

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