Openness for metro projects a good sign
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-03-15 11:00

Beijing will construct another five metro lines to ease current pressure on the city's transportation system and prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Municipal authorities have promised to make all procedures concerning the design, bidding and construction of the lines open to the public.

This new move is aimed at improving work efficiency as well as preventing any possible corruption. It is reported that the projects will involve an investment of nearly 40 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion), so there is bound to be serious public concern over efficient use of the funds.

Making the procedures more transparent will help improve public supervision and thus avoid opportunities for corruption. This is a lesson learned from past experiences.

According to media reports, since 1997, 14 high-profile officials from nine provinces have been caught in corruption cases connected with transportation construction projects.

Their stories often reveal that the corruption involved under-the-table deals and that the bidding process was not, in fact, really open or was simply cast aside.

Drawing lessons from the past, our policy-makers are becoming more aware of the necessity of systemizing the bidding process for public projects.

The State Council has, in line with the Tendering and Bidding Law, stipulated that construction projects involving over 500,000 yuan (US$60,000) must be awarded though public bidding.

It is good to hear that the Beijing authorities have pledged to make the 2008 Summer Olympics a "sunlit" games by making all construction projects more open and transparent.

It is also seen as an attempt to change the current management mechanism for such construction projects. When projects are managed under a closed system, it is easy for the local administrators responsible to act both as investors and part of management. As a result, there is no open supervision of such projects, leading either to great waste of public funds or corruption.

Beijing's move to make its new metro projects open and transparent is a sign of improvement in the government's method of operation.

Apart from ensuring public access to the management of the projects, an internal check and balance mechanism is also essential to ensure a correct and rational decision-making process.

It has been reported that both the Beijing metro and Olympics project management authorities have already invited the departments that will be involved to supervise the entire progress of the projects.

It is also necessary to make clear the government's function in such construction projects. The government should do only what is in its jurisdiction to do, and let the rules of the marketplace play the key role in the awarding of design, bidding and construction contracts for such projects.