Improper settling of accounts and contract management have
resulted in an extra 488 million yuan (US$64.2 million) to the
total cost of the Three Gorges hydropower project, according to the
National Audit Office (NAO) on Friday.
Most of the additional cost was increased by project
construction contractors who exaggerated their expenditures, with
only 5.4 million yuan being wasted by exploration mistakes,
according to the NAO.
The office also found 20.4 hectares of land illegally used
without governmental permission, while another 110 hectares
approved for use have been idled for years.
To date, an area of 2.1 square kilometers, or one-third of the
total suffering soil erosion in the project area, has not been
harnessed, said the office.
Construction on the massive Three Gorges project began in 1993
and is scheduled to be completed in 2009.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2007)
