The Shenzhen Municipal Government has completed an investigation into the delays to four major hospital projects and ordered construction of three of them to start by the end of the year.

The government decided to expand the Shenzhen People's Hospital, build a new center for disease prevention and control, a new No. 3 People's Hospital and new Binhai Hospital more than two years ago, but none of the projects have been started.

An investigation by the city's supervision bureau found low efficiency in some government departments and red tape in approval procedures to blame for the delays, local Chinese-language newspapers said yesterday. Difficulties in selecting sites for some of the projects also contributed to the hold-ups.

At a meeting Friday, Mayor Xu Zongheng said the projects, apart from the Binhai Hospital, must be started by the end of the year. He vowed to punish those who are responsible for further delay.

The reports said this is the first time the city government will hold officials accountable for low efficiency in major public projects.

The projects are aimed at alleviating the shortage of medical facilities in the city.

The investigation, ordered by the mayor, involved interviewing leaders of four government agencies overseeing the projects and investigation of the departments responsible for granting approvals.

However, the reports did not say if any government officials have so far been punished.

Construction of the Binhai Hospital, delayed due to the opposition by residents near the proposed site north of the Mangrove Reserve, will not be able to begin by the end of this year as the initial design and budget have not been completed.

Editor: Yan