Up to $143 million may have been wasted by speeding up sewage disposal projects without Legco's knowledge.
The report criticised officials for bringing forward two contracts at a cost of $143.4 million in 1995 and 1996. The aim was to compensate for delays caused by a method of tendering contracts which the Government had been warned about.
But the works committee, which approved the funding from the $6.8 billion Strategic Sewage Trading Fund, had not been told that major work could have gone ahead without speeding up the projects.
The contract was also awarded without the committee's prior approval to increase the ceiling for project estimates.
But legislators were not told of the costs or the reasons to advance the works in any of the Government's quarterly progress reports between July 1995 and March this year.
The accelerated works covered two contracts. But the auditor found the bulk of the work could have gone ahead by diverting sewage flows to Stonecutters Island for treatment.