Frequent overstatement of project payments in major projects: experts say it's a numbers game

　　Recently, the Yunnan Provincial Audit Office found that the Mengxin (Mengzi to Xinjie) Expressway project had over-calculated and over-paid project payments amounting to tens of millions of yuan. Reporters investigating this issue in multiple provinces learned that due to high returns and low risks, overstatement of project payments occurs from time to time in some large projects, and measures are urgently needed to curb it.

　　Frequent overstatement of project payments

　　The Mengxin Expressway, about 85 kilometers long, is part of an international corridor connecting China with Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries. It was completed and opened to trial operation in 2009. The audit results recently released by the Yunnan Provincial Audit Office show that the Mengxin Expressway had over-calculated project payments of 12.6115 million yuan and over-paid project payments of 5.3453 million yuan.

　　Liu Bin, director of the Second Government Investment Audit Division of the Yunnan Provincial Audit Office, who participated in the audit of the Mengxin Expressway, said that in some large projects, especially in construction projects such as highways, overstatement and overpayment of project payments occur from time to time. In the audited Mengxin Expressway, problems of overstatement and overpayment of project payments existed to varying degrees in all bid sections, including roadbed, pavement, bridges, and tunnels. Experts said that although the methods of over-calculating project payments vary and the amounts differ, most are playing a numbers game.

　　The follow-up audit by the Heilongjiang Provincial Audit Office of the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction projects in Jiange County, Sichuan Province, which Heilongjiang assisted in building, showed that in 2011, during the settlement audit of 47 engineering projects, a total of 44.8552 million yuan in over-calculated project payments by construction contractors was found.

　　The audit results of the final financial accounts of five expressway projects announced by the National Audit Office on May 27 this year also showed that all five expressway projects, including the Guangzhou South Second Ring Road, had problems of over-settled project payments, totaling more than 300 million yuan. The highest single project amount was more than 100 million yuan, and the lowest was more than 41 million yuan.