While the central province of Quang Ngai has been attracting local media coverage over the last few weeks for its controversial investment in dozens of extravagant school restrooms, its neighboring province of Quang Nam seems to have used its money better.
Several restroom projects in Quang Nam, some 115km south of Quang Ngai, have far larger areas compared to those in the latter province, but are much cheaper to build. The Quang Ngai education department has invested in 24 clean water facilities and restrooms since 2010, costing more than VND12.27 billion, according to a report.
The minimum cost of a bathroom is VND300 million, and the highest is VND750 million.
Meanwhile, the largest sum ever spent on a similar project in Quang Nam is only VND160 million.
For instance, the 44-square-meter restroom of Kham Duc high school in the remote district of Phuoc Son is worth only VND137 million, compared to the 29-square-meter facility that cost VND600 million in Quang Ngai.
Both were built under the national program for hygiene and clean water.
The bathroom was opened in 2011, and remains in good condition, said school master Le Van Tam.
“The restroom was invested in by the education department, but we also had responsibility to supervise construction progress and quality,” Tam said.
Similarly, the Le Loi primary school, located in Phu Ninh District, also had a new restroom built under the national clean water program.
“The 50-square-meter facility is worth VND150 million, which is a completely reasonable expense,” said school master Ly Nhan.
From 2010 to 2011, Quang Nam completed five new school restroom projects, whose areas range from 44 square meters to 63 square meters, consuming a total expense of only VND692 million, according to Le Phan Minh Tuan, deputy head of the province’s management board of the clean water program.
Meanwhile, the Nghia Hiep secondary school in Quang Ngai alone is worth more than VND710 million, even though it was funded by the same program.
Are state-funded projects always costly?
In another development, Do Van Phu, deputy director of Quang Ngai’s education department, was interviewed by Tuoi Tre on Tuesday about the bizarrely expensive school restrooms in the area.
Asked if VND600 million is too much for a 29-square-meter restroom, Phu said it is the construction design that matters.
“The designs made at the state level always have higher expenses than those made by the localities themselves,” he said.
“The design will result in high costs for materials and construction, while some designers tend to propose higher total costs to enjoy bigger designing fees,” he said.
Phu added: “In order to decide whether the facilities’ quality is a problem, or whether they deserve the huge investment, the restrooms should be inspected by officials from the agriculture department, which manages the funding for the program.”
“Only these inspectors have expert knowledge about the issue, as we education officials can only see things on the surface,” he said.
Unreasonably high
Tuoi Tre invited a popular contractor in Quang Ngai to examine the restrooms at the Nang An and Duc Thang primary schools and make an objective evaluation of the facilities’ expenses.
After examining the bathroom at Nang An, the contractor asserted that the facility should have cost only VND300 million in total, instead of the disbursed VND721.3 million.
Meanwhile, the highest possible expense to build a restroom similar to the one at Duc Thang is only VND150 million, while the project received as much as VND560.6 million.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
