§ Mr. James Davidsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is the estimated cost of construction of the staging posts at Aldabra and Diego Garcia and the annual cost of maintaining staging posts at Gan, Masirah and Cocos:
(2) if the Government intend to proceed with the construction of staging posts at Aldabra, Diego Garcia, and elsewhere, and to maintain the staging posts at Gan, Masirah and Cocos.
§ Mr. HealeyAs announced in the Statement on the Defence Estimates, we are examining the possibility of establishing a staging airfield in the British Indian Ocean Territory but no decisions have yet been taken. We intend to maintain staging posts at Gan and Masirah for the foreseeable future. The annual cost of these staging posts is £1.8 million and £0.5 million respectively. There is no Royal Air staging post at Cocos.