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013513
MDLT 4706
IS
HOUSE'S INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE BUILDING REPUTATION, THEY ARE NOT VERY FORMIDABLE. IT HAS TO BE WONDERED, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT WOULD VIEW THEM AGAINST THE BOUYUGUES-DRAGAGES- IMPREGILIO-AMERICAN BRIDGE-LEIGHTON-BEAZAR-SHUI ON GROUP, OR FOR THAT MATTER AN ALL-JAPANESE GROUP IF THAT WERE TO INCLUDE ALL THE JAPANESE CONTENDERS OF SIGNIFICANCE. FOR LONG I HAVE BEEN VOICING MY CONCERN THAT IN THIS MULTI-BILLION, MULTI-FACETED PROJECT, BRITISH COMPANIES ONLY SEEMED TO BE SERIOUSLY INTERESTED IN CERTAIN PARTS. IF OUR MAIN CONTENDER, TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN, NO LONGER IN A VERY STRONG POSITION, THEN OUR CHANCE OF SECURING MAJOR WORK FOR BRITISH FIRMS BEGINS TO LOOK QUITE POOR. IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHAT MORE WE CAN DO ABOUT THIS. EFFORTS BY PEP IN LONDON AND BY DIRECT CONTACT FROM THIS POST TO GET MORE MAJOR BRITISH CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES INVOLVED HAVE MET WITH ONLY LIMITED SUCCESS. THE ONLY TWO WHO I KNOW TO BE ACTIVELY PURSUING AN INTEREST IN THE BRIDGE OTHER THAN TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN ARE WIMPEY AND BEAZAR AND BOTH ARE DISGRUNTLED AT WHAT THEY SEE AS HMG'S PREFERENCE FOR TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN
TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN. I APPRECIATE THAT THE NAME OF THE GAME AT PRESENT IS PRE-QUALIFICATION AND THAT IF COSTAIN'S WERE TO END UP WITH A GOOD SLICE OF THE AIRPORT PLATFORM WORK AND TRAFALGAR HOUSE WITH A MAJOR PART IN THE MAIN BRIDGE, THEN WE SHOULD NOT BE DISAPPOINTED, WITH STILL A PROSPECT OF WIMPEY OR BEAZAR BEING INVOLVED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE WORK. BUT THE DANGER OF BRITISH FIRMS FAILING TO GET ANYTHING SIGNIFICANT BEGINS TO LOOM. WE NEED, I SUGGEST, TO CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN AS WELL AS OTHERS LIKE WIMPEY AND BEAZAR BY ALL POSSIBLE MEANS, AND TO KEEP THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT AWARE, AS I HOPE IS THE CASE, THAT THERE IS KEEN COMMERCIAL AS WELL AS POLITICAL INTEREST IN THIS PROJECT AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL BY HMG. IN THIS CONTEXT THE LIKELY CANCELLATION OF MR LILLEY'S VISIT (YRTELNO OTTER 590) IS OF COURSE MOST UNFORTUNATE: I HOPE EVERY EFFORT WILL BE MADE TO REINSTATE IT AT A VERY EARLY DATE.
HEAP
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