§ Mrs. EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what is his estimate of the building costs of the new building for the British Library; and if he will estimate the value of contracts associated with this construction with companies based in(a) London, (b) the South East of England, (c) England, (d) Scotland, (e) Wales and (f) Northern Ireland. [90858]
§ Mr. Alan Howarth[holding answer 13 July 1999]The British Library St. Pancras project is working to a cash estimate of £511.1 million. The final figure may increase slightly when all the outstanding claims and final accounts have been settled. Some 160 contracts were let for the project which was completed two years ago. The construction cost data were not collected by company on a regional basis but by type of product.