Who" Home of via baptiz
1. Longline 2. fill MTR
MR DURIE
Z
HULLAD
and airgeants Mss & yell
parjeets?
\\KK 173/2
RECEIVED IN REGISTRY NO. 51
17 DEC 1980
D
PA
cc Mr Pricton
16
HONG KONG PROSPECTS
DESK OFFICER INDEX
17
PA
STRY
Action Take:
112
Just to record what Derek March told me in a telephone conversation, since he will not have time to call in on us during his present stay.
Island Extension of Mass Transit
Norman Thomson is apparently now more hopeful, albeit that the decision point is liable to shift back into the first week of December. The brief timetable as he sees it would be for specs to be issued by 1 July, with bids by 30 September, and the crunch negotiations with the chosen few in November/December 1981. He had not entirely rejected the possibility of a negotiated contract, but had reservations about some components of the performance of the UK package GEO was in particular mentioned.
The tunnel could well be up to Skm/5 miles of wide bore construction (on par with our Fleet tunnel), but the intention would be for it to be broken up into three packages for bidding purposes. Not to be repeated is the fact that one of the aspects requiring this delayed decision is Hong Kong's bus requirement, which Thomson is arguing could be substantially reduced if the Island extension took place.
Lantau Airport
There is apparently some impatience in the Financial Secretary's office at the bad performance put up by Parsons in their recent presentations. The way is therefore well prepared for a total-UK team, providing we can present it as having respectable credentials and track record, and as a cohesive unit. In particular, any presentation that the UK team would make needs to be extremely slick and professional.
As I mentioned, this could well require that we have dress- rehearsal and other arrangements to associate PEP more closely with the presentation of the UK options.
C B BENJAMIN
US/PEP
3 November 1980
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