5½% For Most Of Bridge Loan

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31123, 28 July 1966, Page 3

5½% For Most Of Bridge Loan

f.Vetp Zealand Press Association > AUCKLAND, July 27. The interest rates to be charged for credit made available by Japan for the Auckland Harbour Bridge widening were given today by the chairman of the Bridge Authority (Sir John Allum). He said the Japanese Import-Export Bank was making £3,700,000 available. The interest would be 51 per cent on the first £2,600,000 and 6 per cent on the balance.

He considered this was very a reasonable and the loan would i prove most advantageous to i the authority. e Repayment would be made i partly from revenue earned by the bridge and partly by t raising loans locally as repay- r ments became due in the c seven years allowed for this. < The important features of s the loan were that there would ' be less demand on New Zea- 1 land’s overseas funds and the , authority w-ould not immedi-

ately be competing with other interests for local funds. This, in turn, would make money easier to raise for others needing it. "We shall have to come on the loan market for some money, but not for a great deal,” he said. This was in contrast to earlier bridge financing when about £500,000 was being borrowed every six months over a long period.