Airstrip construction

This file contains correspondence relating to:

• Approach by Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan to Costain Group Plc and Frederick Snow and Partners for assistance in constructing a civilian airfield in Buraimi (1)
• Request for information about Dimitrios Demetriou, who is said to be working as an intermediary for Sheikh Zayed (2)
• Earlier tender put in by Zompi, a firm of European contractors, for laying a concrete airstrip in Buraimi, with assistance from the RAF in transporting equipment. It also contains further details of the various enquiries and consultations undertaken by Sheikh Zayed regarding the development of the Buraimi airstrip (3)
• Need to inform the Sultan of Muscat and Oman about the plans to develop the Buraimi airfield (4)
• Report that Dimitrios Demetriou landed at Dubai airport but did not have a visa, and so was instructed to return to Bahrain. He nevertheless apparently later managed to travel to Buraimi to visit Sheikh Zayed. Representatives of Costain Group Plc and of Frederick Snow and Partners had also planned to visit Sheikh Zayed, but this did not take place, and it seems that the plans for the Buraimi airfield have been halted. It also contains a Foreign Office circular, issued two months later, stating that Dimitrios Demetriou has been reported to police for passing worthless cheques (5)
• Proposal to persuade Sheikh Shakhbut Bin Sultan Al Nahyan to accept a civil air agreement by offering to provide him with an airport manager/civil aviation advisor (6-7)