SECRET
FM HONG KONG
TO IMMEDIATE FCO
TELNO 3369
OF 11063OZ OCTOBER 89
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043041
MDHIAN 9280
OUR TELNOS 3162 AND 3163: VIETNAMESE BOAT PEOPLE: UK FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
WE HAVE NOW COMPLETED OUR ASSESSMENT OF THREE OPTIONS FOR
CONSTRUCTING NEW VBP ACCOMMODATION FOR 1990 AND BEYOND. A
SUMMARY AND DETAILED COMPARISON OF THE THREE SCHEMES, WHICH WARE FOR ADDITIONAL SITES AT TAI A CHAU, SOUTH LANTAU, AND TELEGRAPH BAY ON HK ISLAND, FOLLOWS BY FAX.
2. IN TERMS OF PER CAPITA DEVELOPMENT COSTS THERE IS LITTLE
TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEM. TELEGRAPH BAY AND THE SOUTH LANTAU
SITE WOULD BE CHEAPER TO DEVELOP THAN TAI A CHAU AND WOULD ALSO BE CHEAPER TO OPERATE. HOWEVER, OUR JUDGEMENT IS THAT THE POLITICAL PRICE OF TRYING TO DEVELOP EITHER WOULD OUTWEIGHT
ANY SAVING ON DEVELOPMENT OR RECURRENT COSTS.
3.
THE SOUTH LANTAU SITE IS IN A COUNTRY PARK AND FOLLOWING OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE HIGH ISLAND PROJECT (WHICH WAS ALSO LOCATED
IN A COUNTRY PARK) WE WOULD EXPECT DETERMINED OPPOSITION FROM THE LOCAL COMMUNITY. THE PRESENT PUBLIC FEELING IN HONG KONG IS THAT IF THERE ARE TO BE ANY NEW VBP CENTRES, THEY SHOULD BE LOCATED AS FAR AWAY FROM POPULATION CENTRES AS POSSIBLE.
TELEGRAPH BAY IS CLOSE TO SEVERAL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HOUSING
ESTATES AND IF WE WERE TO TAKE UP THIS OPTION THERE WOULD AGAIN
BE WIDESPREAD PUBLIC OPPOSITION. FINANCE COMMITTEE WOULD FIND
NEITHER PROJECT ATTRACTIVE AND EVEN WITH MANDATORY REPATRIATION
IN PLACE WOULD IN OUR ASSESSMENT BE UNWILLING TO PROVIDE FUNDS.
4.
WE HAVE THEREFORE CONCLUDED THAT THE TAI A CHAU MUST BE OUR PREFERRED OPTION. A COPY OF THE FULL REPORT, INCLUDING A SCHEDULE OF COSTS, FOLLOWS BY FAX. THE TOTAL COST OF THE PROJECT IS ESTIMATED AT HKD320 MILLION FOR A TOTAL POPULATION OF 20,000 VBP. ONCE THE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE IS IN PLACE IT MIGHT BE POSS-
IBLE TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY BY DEVELOPING OTHER PARTS OF THE
ISLAND. WE HAVE MORE WORK TO DO ON THE DESIGN BUT WE ARE
AIJING TO COMPLETE THIS BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH. THE
MENT OF THE FIRST STAGE FOR 10,000 VBP WILL TAKE ABOUT 9 MONTHS.
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