Accounts watchdog dismayed over delay in abattoir closure
The government expenditure watchdog said yesterday it was 'gravely dismayed' at the delay in the closure of the $900 million loss-making Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir, which shut in 1999.
In a report published yesterday, the Public Accounts Committee also criticised the Government for its refusal to release information so it could further investigate findings contained in a scathing Audit Commission report into the abattoir.
The commission said in April that the abattoir should have been closed earlier to cut accumulated losses estimated at $900 million, accrued between 1987 and 1999.
The committee said it was inexcusable that there had been a significant delay in implementing the privatisation of the abattoir, first proposed in 1987 with a target date of 1992.
One of the main causes of the delay was the unduly long time taken by the then Urban Services Department (USD) in negotiating with livestock importer Ng Fung Hong on the land premium for the Sheung Shui slaughter house, which replaced the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir.
'The USD failed to fully recognise the heavy costs to the taxpayers in continuing to operate the abattoir and missed a number of opportunities to privatise or close down the abattoir,' the committee said.