Lawmakers demand full details of compensation to contractor on two unnamed bridge projects

The refusal by the Government to disclose the whole truth about how taxpayers ended up paying $157 million extra for two major bridges was criticised by legislators yesterday.

They said the administration had put commercial interests above the public interest.

At a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee, lawmakers threatened to use powers granted under the Legco (Power and Privileges) Ordinance to gain disclosure of the confidential information, which includes names of the bridges, if the Government insisted on refusing to reveal this.

It was the first public hearing on the issue after months of bargaining between officials and legislators over an Audit Commission report. The report, issued in November, criticised the Government's failure to specify design of the two bridges in advance, costing taxpayers an unspecified amount of additional payment as compensation.

The report could not reveal the names of the bridges and the amount involved because the Highways Department was bound by a confidentiality clause in the contract with the builder.

After repeated demands for the Government to disclose more details were rejected, Lau Kong-wah of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong said his patience with officials had run out. 'I have no patience left for this matter, as the situation now is that commercial interest has been put above the public interest,' he said.