SINGAPORE NAVAL BASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19488, 18 November 1926, Page 13

SINGAPORE NAVAL BASE.

FLOATING DOCK SCHEME. ADMIRALTY LETS CONTRACT. TENDER PRICE £1,200,000. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. (Received 8.5 p.m.) * A. and N.Z. LONDON. Nov. 16 The Admiralty has let a contract to Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Ltd., of Wallsend, New-castle-on-Tvne, for the construction of a floating dock at Singapore. The price of the tender was £1.200,0 CX). The work of constructing the dock will occupy two years. The net total of the Navy Estimates for 1926 was £58,100,000. This is a reduction o £2,400,100 below the Estimates for the previous year, notwithstanding that the provision for new construction was increased from £7,235,737 to £9,083,693. The Estimates provided for carrying on the new construction programme which was laid before Parliament in July, 1925. It was originally intended that the floating dock for Singapore, which is included in this programme, should be provided by the reconstruction of an ex-German dock. Experience, however, showed this to be impracticable, and a new dock was accordingly ordered. The change will not add to the cost of new construction in 1926, and though the total cost of the new dock is more than the cost of reconstructing the ex-German dock, the indications,are that the total cost of the new construction programme as a whole will be less than was previously estimated.