TNAG-2413-FCO40-3515-Hong-Kong-Port-and-Airport-Development-Strategy-(PADS)-fina-1992 — Page 196

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CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL

5. No doubt the HKG will be informing you of this development in due course; however, I think you should have this early warning. This is the latest in a series of indications (see my letter of 16 January) that the timetable for the airport programme is slipping, that the costs are escalating, and that the process of consulting the Chinese is likely to become more complicated.

Yours ever,

Plan

AR Paul

P.S.

I have now learned that the new figure for the airport is $43 billion (1991 prices) compared with the previous figure we gave to the Chinese - $37.8 billion (1990 prices).

CONFIDENTIAL AND PERSONAL