Guangzhou Promises to Release Asiad Spending Details Before 2013

The 16th Asian Games opens on November 12, 2010 in Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong province. [Photo: Xinhua]

Guangzhou's finance chief Zhang Jieming said Wednesday the total spending of the Asian Games would be released before 2013, the Information Times reports.

Zhang, the director of the Guangzhou Financial Bureau said that the city had injected 13.6 billion yuan for the 16th Asian Games held in November, 2010 - 6.3 billion yuan was used for venue construction and 7.3 billion yuan for operation and maintenance.

The details of expenditure and revenue will be made public after auditing, Zhang Jieming said at a press conference on Wednesday.

During the annual session of the People's Congress of Guangzhou city, Zhong Nanshan, a renowned medical expert and member of the National People's Congress, claimed that the Guangzhou Asiad cost more than 257 billion yuan, leaving the city with a debt of more than 210 billion yuan, according to previous reports.

Zhang Jieming denied those reports. He added that the municipal government is faced with a debt of 88.4 billion yuan, mainly because between 2005 and 2010, Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, allocated 109 billion yuan for infrastructure improvement, including subway, road and bridge construction, and environmental facilities, to give the city a facelift.

But he emphasized that the local government is "prudent" towards the issue of budget, and the current debt is "affordable."

Beijing released its Olympic spending details in June, 2009, about ten months after the Olympic Games held in August, 2008.