§ Mr. Meacherasked the Secretary of State for the Environment, in the case of the Channel Tunnel, what has been, and what it is estimated will be, the annual public expenditure cost of the project from its initiation to 1985.
§ Mr. PeytonMajor expenditure on the Channel Tunnel itself would only arise if the guarantees to fixed interest investors were called, a contingency which is not anticipated. After allowing for items, such as land purchase, which will be directly recoverable from the funds of the project, and costs of departmental staff, etc., net expenditure has not exceeded £50,000 in any year, nor is it expected to do so.
This does not take account of expenditure on the associated railway investment. From 1981 to 1985 the direct inflow of funds from the United Kingdom Government share of the net profits of the project is expected substantially to exceed any possible remaining public expenditure commitments.