CONFIDENTIAL
LONG TERM ACCOMMODATION
ANNEX B
1. The Hong Kong Government have identified the need to build a new
camp with the capacity to accommodate at least 20,000 boat people.
2.
After examining various possible sites (Tai A Chau Island, Hei
Ling Chau Island, Telegraph Bay and South Lantau), the Hong Kong
Government have concluded that the only viable option is Tai A Chau.
(Tai A Chau was used as a temporary camp over the summer and at one
stage accommodated more than 5,000 boat people until the camp had to
be evacuated because of a cholera outbreak.) It would be more
expensive to build a camp on Tai A Chau than on a more accessible
site such as Telegraph Bay on or South Lantau because of the costs
of bringing in water and disposing of sewage. But there would be
strong opposition from the local community to the construction of a
new camp in a populated area.
3. The Hong Kong Government estimate that the cost of developing
Tai A Chau would be £26 million.
4.
A detailed breakdown of the costs and the phasing of expenditure
of the proposed Tai A Chau detention centre and a comparison with
other possible sites is attached.
EELADN (3)
CONFIDENTIAL
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