Could light and heavy cruisers share machinery?

Could light and heavy cruisers share machinery and shipyard production methods?

Yes; machinery commonality was comparatively easy, while the real design challenge was adopting a hull large and strong enough for the eight-inch version.

Common machinery and shipyard production practices were straightforward compared with sharing the hull itself. Building the family around the stronger eight-inch-gun hull would not disadvantage the six-inch version. The light cruiser would gain space, protection, speed potential, survivability, and ammunition capacity from the more generous platform. Commonality was therefore a deliberate family-design choice rather than a requirement that both versions minimize displacement.