§ 61. Mr. D. GRENFELLasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air who is conducting the negotiations with the sheikhs on the Trucial Coast, in the Persian Gulf, for an air station, with landing places and rest houses; what will be the cost of the transfer from the Persian to the Arabian side of the gulf; and what is the reason for the proposed change?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. Eden)I have been asked to reply to this question. The negotiations are being conducted by the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf, and the capital cost of the transfer is, roughly, estimated at £9,750. As regards the last part of the question, the decision of His Majesty's Government to transfer the air route to the Arabian coast has been taken as a result of a detailed examination of the whole question, which has shown that the Arabian route possesses certain important practical advantages.