§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to announce his choice of promoter to build a third crossing of the Thames at Dartford.
§ Mr. MooreI received submissions from seven private sector groups on 31 May in response to the invitation my predecessor issued on 3 March for proposals for a third crossing at Dartford. Some groups offered schemes with several variants. I am grateful to all those who responded. All the proposals have been considered very carefully and I have decided that the choice lies between four of the schemes submitted by three of the groups. Before making a final choice, I need to undertake discussions with those three promoters to satisfy myself about certain technical and financial aspects of their proposals. They are the Dartford River Crossing Company, which has proposed twin bored tunnels or a bridge, and the Dartford Tunnel Group and the Thames Tunnel Company, both of whom have proposed immersed tube tunnels.
I am still considering the public and private financing alternatives which all these promoters have offered. Following the discussions with them, I hope to announce my final decision as soon as possible.