§ Mr. WATTasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the total sum spent and to be spent on the Lagos harbour works, Southern Nigeria; of what works do the plans consist; will he say what each branch of the work is expected to cost; and who is responsible to his Department should the figures be exceeded?
Mr. HARCOURTThe main harbour works consist of the construction of two stone moles, 8,500 and 6,000 feet in length, at an estimated cost of £897,000. Of this, about, £365,000 had been spent up to 31st December last. Large expenditure is also contemplated on the construction and extension of wharves in the harbour, some of which has already been carried out, about £80,000 having been expended on two wharves up to the end of last year. But the provision of wharfage accommodation for ocean-going vessels involves a great deal of reclamation work, and also the extension of the railway to the wharves. The sum of £500,000 was provided in the Southern Nigeria Loan of 1911 for the wharfage scheme, but certain important matters still remain to be decided, and no estimate can at present be given for the whole of the work. The harbour works also involve dredging operations. These are paid for from revenue, and not from loan funds, money being provided on the Estimates of each year as required. As the dredgers are not entirely employed on this work, but are available for dredging and reclamation work generally, I am not in a position to state the expenditure on dredging in connection with the harbour works separately. The dredging is carried out under the directions of the Marine Department of the Colony, working in consultation with the resident engineer in charge of the harbour works. The works are being carried out by the Colonial Government, their consulting engineers being Messrs. Coode, Matthews, Fitzmaurice, and Wilson. Their resident engineer is responsible for the conduct of the works under their supervision, and the expenditure is subject to the same control as that on any other public works in the Colony.