YOU GE IN FOR SOME OF THESE SORT OF PROJECTS ACTUALLY SOMETIMES TURN OUT TO JE LESS THAN ANTICIPATED, NOT MORE.
VICKY MCLAUGHLIN (REUTERS): WHAT IS THE CURRENT DOLLAR ESTIMATE FOR THE TOTAL PROJECT AND SECONDLY, WHAT PERCENTAGE OF PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
THE GOVERNOR: I AM SORRY, I DON'T HAVE THE PRECISE FIGURE IN MY HEAD AND I DON'T WANT TO CONFUSE PEOPLE BY GIVING YET MORE FIGURES BECAUSE WHAT WE SEEM TO HAVE IS A LOT OF FIGURES BUT THE ONE FIGURE I'LL TELL YOU THAT IS NOT RIGHT WHICH HAS ALWAYS CAUSED ME CONCERN IS THAT WHEN I FIRST ANNOUNCED THIS PROJECT AND PERHAPS I WOULD CONFESS TO THAT AS NOT BEING THE BEST WAY TO DO IT, I PUT TOGETHER THE COST BOTH OF THE AIRPORT AND THE PORT DEVELOPMENT AS 127 BILLION. EVER SINCE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SAYING THE AIRPORT COSTS 127 BILLION' WHICH IS INACCURATE BECAUSE THAT INCLUDES.
VICKY MCLAUGHLIN (REUTERS): WE NEVER SAID THAT.
THE GOVERNOR: I AM SURE REUTERS NEVER WOULD SOME OTHER LESSER AGENCIES HAVE SAID THAT. I AM ANOTHER POINT.
HAVE SAID THAT, SORRY, YOU HAD
VICKY MCLAUGHLIN (REUTERS): THE LEVEL OF PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, THAT YOU ARE HOPING FOR.
THE GOVERNOR: WE WOULD LIKE TO GET AS MUCH PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT AS WE CAN GET. THE FIGURE I THINK FOR THE WHOLE HERE I AM AGAIN, LET ME BE CAREFUL, PUTTING TOGETHER THE AIRPORT AND THE PORT WAS A 40:60 SPLIT. NOW WHAT WE WANT AS A MINIMUM FOR THE AIRPORT WAS 25 PER CENT BUT THOSE ARE NOT PRECISE FIGURES. AGAIN, LET ME BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT THAT, THEY ARE NOT PRECISE FIGURES. WE WILL BE AIMING FOR AS MUCH PRIVATE SECTOR INVOLVEMENT AS WE CAN GET.
VICKY MCLAUGHLIN (REUTERS): SO IN YOUR DREAMS IT WOULD BE 100
PER CENT.
THE GOVERNOR: NO IN MY DREAMS IT WOULDN'T BE A HUNDRED PERCENT - BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN SIMPLY HANDING IT OVER TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
UNDER CERTAIN SCENARIOS THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, BUT A PROJECT OF THIS SIZE COMPLEXITY HAVING TO MATCH INTO OTHER BIG GOVERNMENT PROJECTS LIKE ROADS THEN YOU'D PROBABLY NEED A DEGREE OF GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT.
AL REYES (ASIAWEEK MAGAZINE) :
: SIR DAVID, BACK TO FINANCES, IS HONG KONG IN FOR A FEW YEARS OF DEFICIT SPENDING AS WE GET UP TO 1997?
THE GOVERNOR: NO, THE ESTIMATES THAT THERE ARE, MEAN THAT AT SOME STAGES WE WILL BE DRAWING ON OUR RESERVES, BUT I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT IT AS MONEY WHICH HAS BEEN SAVED UP FOR A PARTICULAR PROJECT WHICH YOU THEN USE. NOW, SOMETIMES PEOPLE CAN PUT THAT AS DEFICIT SPENDING, AS THOUGH THAT WAS A BAD THING, BUT THAT WOULD BE REALLY THE SAME AS IF YOU PUT MONEY INTO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT TO SAVE UP FOR BUYING A NEW APARTMENT AND NEVER USED IT. YOU PUT IT THERE FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND YOU THEN USE IT. IN THE SAME WAY WE HAVE BEEN BUILDING UP OUR RESERVES AND WE WILL BE USING SOME OF THOSE RESERVES FOR THE AIRPORT PROJECT.. THAT'S WHAT THEY'VE BEEN PUT
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