Budget for Asian Games on the way, says city official

GUANGZHOU - Finance authorities in this southern city said they will unveil an official breakdown of the spending on the Asian Games at an appropriate time after criticism from local legislators who are claiming the sporting spectacle left the city in a huge hole.

The promise of a detailed financial breakdown came after comments from Zhong Nanshan, a deputy with the Guangzhou People's Congress, who said there was a big financial gap after the local authorities invested what he claimed was 257.7 billion yuan ($38.4 billion) on the games.

Zhong claimed Guangzhou had only expected to spend 195 billion yuan on the games. He claimed the debt from the games and other debts that the city has run up during the past five years has left it owing 210 billion yuan.