https://archive.is/OA11a

Government campaign against ‘formalism’ puts local officials in spotlight for projects deemed unnecessary or cynically undertaken to gain prestige

Local officials in China are often castigated for wasteful spending on “white elephant” projects – high-profile construction ventures pursued for rapid economic growth and to curry political prestige. In recent years, China has emphasised quality development over fast growth as rising debts put pressure on many regions.

The first phase of Tianshui’s tram line, which began operations in May 2020, only had an average of 800,000 passengers a year, generating around 1.6 million yuan of yearly income, the Xinhua report said. However, the cost of running the trams was around 40 million yuan a year – 25 times the measured annual revenue – and because the construction failed to take into account water management for rivers over which the tram network is built, it has created a potential geological hazard.

The case in Gansu has been highlighted by Xinhua, along with two others in Fujian and Shandong provinces, as examples of local officials choosing to “ignore reality” in the “one-sided” pursuit of “short-term benefits at the expense of long-term development”.