Guangzhou Asian Games organizers last week issued a report that the sporting event was conducted frugally and honestly.
Guangzhou Mayor Wan Qingliang said that the games major events were conducted within budget and that there were no cases of corruption. Wan s remarks were in response to rumors the city had spent beyond its budget to ensure a spectacular and successful games.
Wan said the city had spent more than 123 billion yuan (18 billion USD) on the Asian and Para Asian Games but that a "great majority of [the money] allocated to the city's infrastructure, never went beyond budget.
The games, which won widespread praise from participating countries and regions, were so far the largest of their kind in history. But they were actually economical," said Mayor Wan. "The city government always adhered to the principle of organizing the Asian Games and the Asian Para Games industriously and frugally," added Wan.
Deputy Secretary of the Guangzhou Commission for Discipline Inspection Zhang Weicheng said that no corruption cases involving the construction of games venues and related projects had so far been investigated.
"The Asian Games and the Asian Para Games were clean as all the games-related projects were conducted in a transparent manner," Zhang said before a news conference last weekend, after the commission had completed an investigation on all Asian and Para Asian Games projects.
Official statistics revealed only about 13 billion yuan had been invested in the construction and maintenance of venues and facilities for the events. Guangzhou government officials last week said 109 billion yuan was spent on upgrading the city's overall infrastructure which included the construction of new metro lines and stations, highways and bridges as well as projects that improved the city's water and air quality.
Even without the two games, Guangzhou still needs to invest a large sum of money in improving its infrastructure and environment to build a modern international metropolis, Wan said. "With the efforts made to curb pollution, Guangzhou's sky has become bluer and its water cleaner," the mayor added.
