§ 84. Sir C. Mott-Radclyffeasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total value of the buildings, installations, stores and equipment which have been abandoned in Aden following the withdrawal of the British troops.
§ Mr. BoydenAssets in Aden and the Protectorates were disposed of as follows: Fixed assets belonging to the Navy, Army and Air Force Departments and the Foreign Office were handed over to the South Arabian authorities without charge as reported in the White Paper on the gift of fixed assets and equipment to the South Arabian Authorities (Cmnd. 3442). These assets included military type buildings, schools, hospitals, fixtures such as air-conditioning plant, kitchen equipment, fuel tanks, roads, jetties and runways. These have been valued at £24.6 million at depreciated present day replacement costs.
The contents, not required for use elsewhere, of certain buildings were also handed over without charge as reported in Cmnd. 3442. These comprise items such as school desks, hospital beds and other accommodation stores and technical and medical equipment the removal of which would ruin the buildings as "going concerns". The value of these items is estimated at less than £1 million, based on their depreciated value.
Other moveable equipment and stores not required for use elsewhere or not economically worth transporting were sold, prior to withdrawal to the Federal Authorities, to other Governments, or on the open market in accordance with normal Services disposals procedures. In addition a contract was negotiated for the bulk sale of all remaining surpluses arising after 4th September, 1967, and this included those items which became surplus only at the moment of withdrawal.
Because of these arrangements and as far as is at present known, it is anticipated that there will prove to have been virtually no abandonment of stores which would have had a saleable value.
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§ Sir Ian Orr-Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated value of military buildings, installations and equipment abandoned in Aden and the Protectorates.
§ Mr. BoydenI would refer the hon. Member to the answer already given today to the hon. Member for Windsor (Sir C. Mott-Radclyffe).