TNAG-1873-FCO40-2661-Relations-between-Hong-Kong-and-China-1989 — Page 148

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(ii)

financing plan, of the total cost of

Rmb 3.8 billion (HK$8 billion), about 10% was to be financed by Hopewell and 14.5% by the Chinese authorities, with the remaining 75% financed by syndicated loans arranged by Hopewell. But given the

increase in total cost by nearly 40%,

unless Hopewell and the Chinese authorities are willing to put in more money, a larger proportion of the project cost will have to be financed by loans.

The initial phase between Guangzhou and Shenzhen is believed to be much more financially viable than the second phase from Guangzhou to Zhuhai. The Chinese authorities would, not surprisingly, like to commit Hopewell from the beginning to build both.

(iii) Work started on the Shenzhen portion of

the superhighway in May/June 1987 but progress has been slow, reportedly due to financing problems. Work on the portion running from Shenzhen to Guangzhou was originally planned to start in December 1987 but only partially started in April/May this year and has often been disrupted, again due to financing problems. The completion date for the initial phase from Shenzhen to Guangzhou

has now been postponed to 1991, one year behind the original schedule.

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