Li Canfeng acknowledges Taipa Central Park irregularities

Taipa Central Park

The director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Li Canfeng, has apologized over irregularities related to the Taipa Central Park development project, recently unveiled by a Commission of Audit (CA) report.
The issue raised further discussion at yesterday’s Legislative Assembly plenary meeting following an enquiry delivered by Ho Ion Sang.
“I have to apologize for the careless development of the project. We have set up a working group, which has included legal advisers and financial services bureau employees, to further assess these issues. We also have to see whether this type of problem has occurred in other public works’ development projects,” he told lawmakers.
The Commission of Audit slammed DSSOPT last May over the management of Taipa Central Park’s construction. The CA found that the construction project did not meet its intended standards nor the deadlines that had initially been laid out.
The Commission also found flaws in construction supervision and the execution of works, which led to delays and a “waste of resources,” jeopardising the safety of potential park users.
Lawmakers questioned DSSOPT and the Secretary for Transport and Public Works over irregularities and the waste of public resources on several major public works.
Melinda Chan asked whether the administration is still awarding tenders for public works to companies proposing lower budgets.
Several lawmakers asked the government to blacklist companies who fail to comply with their contractual obligations.
The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, recalled that for instance the Transportation Infrastructure Office (GIT) has 79 employees dealing with dozens of public works. “Could I guarantee that there will be no problem with any of these public works? Impossible!” he conceded.
The Secretary concluded by saying that one of the major problems in public works is not only an overrun budget but also a failure to meet deadlines. “We will step by step solve this issue,” he promised.