§ 24. Captain HAROLD BALFOURasked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he can make any statement as regards the abandoning of Hinaidi aerodrome, Bagdad, and the proposed construction of another base 50 miles away; and if he will state the amount spent to date on the construction and maintenance of Hinaidi aerodrome and the amount to be received in compensation from the Iraq Government?
§ The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for AIR (Sir Philip Sassoon)As the answer is long I will, with my hon. and gallant Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the answer:
§ As regards the first part of the question, the Anglo-Iraq Treaty of 1930 (Command Paper 3627) provides for the withdrawal of the British Forces from Hinaidi and Mosul within five years of the admission of Iraq to membership of the League of Nations. The forces will be transferred to a new base which, in accordance with the terms of the Treaty, will be to the west of the Euphrates in the neighbourhood of Lake Habbaniya on land which is being placed at the disposal of His Majesty's Government by the Iraq Government.
§ As regards the second part of the question, I regret that I am not in a position to state the total amount spent on the construction and maintenance of the cantonment at Hinaidi. The cantonment was originally constructed by the Army for the large garrison of British and Indian troops and since it was taken over by the Air Ministry 11 years ago, has been adapted to the constantly diminishing requirements of the Royal Air Force.
§ The Iraq Government have agreed to take over the permanent buildings and plant at Hinaidi together with the permanent buildings and plant at Mosul at one-third of the cost price as certified by the Air Ministry, an arrangement which is embodied in the agreement on financial questions published as Command Paper No. 3675. I may add that the original cost of the permanent buildings and plant at Hinaidi has been assessed at approximately £1,000,000.