The Qishan bus station in Jieyang, Guangdong province, which is spread over thousands of square meters and worth 28 million yuan ($4.49 million), has been lying idle since it was built in 2004. This is a criminal waste of public funds, which could have been used to help many a needy person, says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

So out of the way is the Qishan bus station and so incomplete are its supporting facilities that only a few buses have used it since it opened in 2004. Besides, all its employees, except the manager, have left to work in other places.

One can only sympathize with the manager for the difficulty he faces in "running" the station. But it is really heartbreaking to see the local authorities wasting a huge amount of public money on a project that was doomed to fail.

How could the local government watch a newly built bus station go almost unused for eight years? The local authorities could have used the 28 million yuan they spent to build the useless bus station to make many senior citizens' life more comfortable, and provide education for many poor students and shelter for many vagrants.

The Qishan bus station, supposed to serve local residents, has become a useless ornament making us wonder why decision-makers failed to conduct a proper research to select the best possible site, carefully plan the project and help the bus station function properly by improving its supporting facilities as soon as possible.

There are quite a few projects like the Qishan bus station in China. But hopefully, fewer such projects will get the sanction of the authorities in the future to stop the drain of public funds.

(China Daily 11/23/2012 page9)