'Three Gorges dam project mis-managed'

A six-month investigation into the bill for China's huge Three Gorges dam has unearthed widespread mis-management, state media reported Sunday. The National Audit Office detected extra construction costs of 488 million yuan (64 million dollars), most of it attributable to contractors who exaggerated their expenditure, the Xinhua news agency said.
Several construction companies were also discovered to have subcontracted their projects against regulations and obtained charge of 53.5 million yuan illegally. The office also found 20.4 hectares (50 acres) of land used without government permission, while another 110 hectares (270 acres) approved for use had been left idle.
"The problems are largely due to lack of laws and regulations and imperfection in internal control," said Pan Xiaojun, a senior official with the audit office. However, the auditors said they found no embezzlement or misappropriation of government money.