Despite higher PIDDA execution rate, zero progress on eight projects

The execution rate of the second-quarter Government Investment and Development Expenditure Plan (PIDDA) has reached 30%, but eight projects are yet to record their commencement, lawmaker Wong Kit Cheng said yesterday.

Wong is the president of a parliamentary committee that has oversight of government expenditure and budget execution.

The committee studied the mid-term implementation of this year’s budget and the PIDDA implementation of the second quarter of this year.

At the press briefing following the meeting, Wong revealed that the committee is yet to receive the third quarter PIDDA execution report. If no progress has been made on any of the eight projects, their project managers will be called to parliament to explain.

The PIDDA execution rate rose from 14.7% in the first quarter to 30% in the second.

Fifteen projects were added to the PIDDA plan during the second quarter, including the purchase of the Ritz Building on Senado Square. Wong said that the committee will invite officials to justify the additional projects.

Moreover, the Environmental Protection Bureau has established an offshore landfill project. The project involves funds of MOP15.59 billion and implementation will span across 24 years.

Stressing the committee’s understanding of the necessity of landfill and providing assurance that construction waste will be contained, Wong said that committee members had raised concerns – mostly over the project’s timespan – and will invite officials to provide explanations to the committee.

The permitted budget for second-quarter investments saw a quarter-on-quarter increase of about MOP29 million, with actual expenditure rising to MOP2.9 billion, as well as MOP550 million in reserve funds. AL