RESTRICTED
OF 141036Z JANUARY 92
INFO PRIORITY ECGD, FCO
INFO ROUTINE TOKYO, SEOUL
HKA 182/3
FOR HALL, HEAD OF PEP
TOP COPY Q DIST ?/
176112
MDHIAN 9090
HONG KONG AIRPORT PROJECT
(A) MAIN BRIDGE CONTRACT
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1. SIR GORDON MANZIE OF THE ANGLO-JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (AJC) WAS IN HONG KONG FOR THE WEEK 6 10 JANUARY. HE HAD A GOOD ROUND OF MEETINGS AND WILL NO DOUBT BE REPORTING ON RESULTS TO YOU. MEANWHILE IT MAY BE HELPFUL IF I GIVE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF A DEBRIEFING MEETING THAT I HAD WITH HIM BEFORE HIS DEPARTURE. HIS INFORMATION ACCORDS CLOSELY WITH THAT WHICH I HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PICK UP.
2. SIR GORDON MANZIE SAID THAT ALTHOUGH NO ONE HAD TOLD HIM IN TERMS OF THEIR EXACT POSITION IN THE BIDDING FOR THE BRIDGE, BY PUTTING TOGETHER THE VARIOUS COMMENTS MADE TO HIM HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT THE KOREANS HAD PUT IN SIGNIFICANTLY THE LOWEST BID, THE JAPANESE WERE THE MOST EXPENSIVE, AND THE BIDS OF THE TRAFALGAR HOUSE LED GROUP (AJC) AND THAT OF THE GROUP LED BY BOUYGUES OF FRANCE WERE IN THE MIDDLE AND VERY CLOSE. MANZIE WAS REASONABLY CONFIDENT THAT THEIR BID WAS SECOND WITH THE BOUYGUES GROUP THIRD, BUT COULD NOT BE SURE. HE BELIEVED BOTH BIDS WOULD BE IN THE 7.0-8.0 BILLION HONG KONG DOLLARS RANGE: ONE REPORT HAD PUT THEM AT HKD7.0 AND HKD7.6 BILLION AND ANOTHER AT HKD7.4y AND
HKD7.8 BILLION. OTHER UNCONFIRMED REPORTS PUT THE KOREAN FIGURE AS A LITTLE ABOVE HKD5.0 BILLION AND THE JAPANESE AS NEARLY HKD9.0 BILLION. IT WAS ALSO CLEAR HOWEVER THAT THE AJC BID WAS QUALIFIED TO A DEGREE THAT CAUSED CONCERN, AND WAS PROBABLY MORE QUALIFIED THAN THAT OF ANY OTHER GROUP. FIRST REACTIONS TO THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THEIR BID WERE HIGHLY FAVOURABLE. THE PROPOSALS CONTAINED IN THEIR BID ON THE FRANCHISE OF THE BRIDGE AFTER ITS CONSTRUCTION WERE NOT MATCHED BY ANYONE ELSE AND SIR GORDON MANZIE SAID THAT THE ECGD POSITION HAD ALSO BEEN FAVOURABLY RECEIVED. HE HAD BEEN TOLD THAT ALL FOUR GROUPS WOULD BE REQUIRED TO ATTEND FOR SEPARATE FURTHER DISCUSSIONS TOWARDS
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