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The Audit Commission would not shirk investigations of  the controversial Cyberport and West Kowloon projects,  its director  said yesterday.

Benjamin Tang Kwok-bun said the involvement of senior government officials in the projects would not prevent the watchdog from launching investigations.

'We have already opened files for the projects and are gathering information,' the director of audit said on Commercial Radio, adding the commission was concerned about the developments.

But he said the commission had not been auditing the projects because the West Kowloon development had not gone ahead and the Bel-Air development at Cyberport would not be completed until 2007.

The government has been criticised for adopting a single-developer approach for the West Kowloon cultural project.  Its choice of a  glass canopy for the project  also triggered public outcry over cost and need.

The government has been criticised for granting the Cyberport project  to the Pacific Century Group - a company owned by Richard Li Tzar-kai, Li Ka-shing's son - without competitive tendering in 1999. The development has also  been criticised for the information technology project turning into a residential venture.

The two projects have recently been linked to  concerns over  possible collusion between government and business. Government officials have been writing to newspapers explaining the developments and defending their approaches.

The Audit Commission has brought down two high-profile critical reports  in recent months.

In November, it  published a damning report on the English Schools Foundation (ESF), criticising its governance, administration and funding.

In the same month, the commission  criticised the government for not charging a premium for change of land use at Discovery Bay.  It also pointed to the scrapping of key public facilities such as a golf course from the original plan, saying it was done without proper explanation.

Mr Tang said he was grateful that after the report was published, the Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau had said it would seek approval from the Executive Council before changing the land development blueprint.

He said the watchdog's reports aimed to prevent any repetition of past  government  mistakes.



Watchdog has opened files on arts hub and Cyberport