08 January,2011 07:48 AM IST | | Agencies
A Hong Kong businessman has offered to pay about $7.7 million (Rs 35 crore) for the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible so he can turn it into an international school in China, according to a report.
The Chinese media reported that Lam Kin-bong made the bid at an online auction for the decommissioned ship, which played a key role in the 1982 Falkland Islands conflict between Argentina and Britain.
Lam, who operates au00a0 popular chain of Chinese restaurants in Britain, offered to pay $7.7 millionu00a0 in the auction, which stopped taking bids Wednesday.
If he wins the auction, Lam plans to tow the 22,000-tonne Invincible to the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, near Hong Kong and Macau, and turn it into a school "to help foster communication and cultural ties between China and Britain", the report said.
The entrepreneur said that he had no plans to use the ship for military purposes.
"My intentions are purely commercial and have nothing to do with the military," Lam was quoted as saying.
A British defence ministry spokeswoman saidu00a0 that the vessel would be stripped of all its components.
689 feet
The length of the HMS Invincible, which was launched on May 3 1977.u00a0
