Construction projects for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games will be among the top priorities of auditors this year, said Li Jinhua, auditor-general of the National Audit Office (CNAO), on Monday.

The move is to facilitate the effective use of Olympic funds and prevent corruption in Olympic projects, Li said at the annual auditing work conference.

Li said the CNAO will audit major investment projects of the government and "investigate and prosecute according to law if any bribery is discovered".

Former deputy mayor of Beijing, Liu Zhihua, who was in charge of the Olympic construction projects, was fired last year for alleged corruption.

According to the municipal office in charge of Olympic facility construction, 11 of the 12 newly built Olympic sports facilities have completed pouring concrete, renovation of nine existing facilities are nearing completion, five of the eight temporary facilities have started construction. Work on all the Olympic facilities will be completed by the end of 2007.

Chai Xiaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, said that the municipal government will budget an additional six billion yuan in 2007 to ensure the construction of the Olympic projects, surrounding roads and for municipal engineering projects.

Liu Qi, chair of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee said that the CNAO has been supervising the financial statements of Olympic projects since the beginning, and the Beijing Audit Bureau along with the CNAO have jointly conducted audits.

Stepping up the auditing work is an important measure to ensure a "clean'' Olympic Game, he said..

The CNAO also plans to give priority in 2007 to the south to north water diversion project and major railway construction projects, said Li.

Source: Xinhua