TNAG-2408-FCO40-3502-Hong-Kong-Port-and-Airport-Development-Strategy-(PADS)-Brit-1992 — Page 204

To:

dti

HKA 182/3

the department for Enterprise

Minister for Trade

From:

David Hall

Hd/PEP

Room 256

Ashdown House

215 5462

16 January 1992

b.c.c.

Mr Ricketts,

HKD, F.CO

'll

CONFIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL IN CONFIDENCE

cc Secretary of State

Mr Roberts

ECGD

Mr Willott

Mr Meadway Mr Rogers

OT4

PEP 1

Mr Jox mi

Mr fubeat 2011 Mr Engell Hoge para

ľ

Mr Gallaher PEP 1

isn't loo

fanguine!

PASS

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HONG KONG : THE LANTAU FIXED CROSSING

This note gives a short progress report on the Lantau Fixed Crossing the very large bridge to be built from the mainland in Hong Kong to the island on which the new airport is being constructed. It is for information only.

2. The information below is sensitive, and I would be grateful if recipients of this minute could handle it with

care.

Background

3.

И

Bids closed for the Lantau Fixed Crossing on 16 December, and UK hopes rest primarily with an Anglo/Japanese consortium led, on the UK side, by Trafalgar House and Costains (and on the Japanese side by Mitsui). The main competition was always regarded as an exclusively Japanese consortium; in addition a Korean group was bidding, as well as one other international group (French/German/Australian etc, but with a small UK interest through Kier).

4. The Hong Kong Government has not made any announcement about the bids, nor would we expect this. But we have recently gained informal intelligence from the Anglo/Japanese consortium about the level at which the four competing groups have bid. We understand that the Koreans have put in the lowest bid (a little above HK$5 billion), while the all Japanese bid was significantly the highest - (at a little under HK$9 billion). Our Anglo/Japanese consortium, and the other international consortium were in the middle, between HK$7 and HK$8 billion; the two bids are apparently close, but there is some hope that the UK bid is the lower. (These are complex tenders with a number of alternative financing arrangements, and the position is not entirely straight-

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