It means that the thing described as an "usine à gaz" is very complicated and usually not quite necessary. It also can mean that it costs a lot of money that may be better spent.

Let's see what the others say.

par exemple

I know quangos are usually something else but I have a vague idea that the term is also loosely used for superfluous institutions, even though I can't find any confirmation of this. I offer this contribution in the hope of learning something myself

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Note added at 2004-04-29 09:10:11 (GMT)
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\"a quango is something like a standards council or committee where the government can influence the appointment of members yet say that the work done or the advice given is \"independent\" - I suppose that the \"Strategic Rail Authority\" or certain national \"Council\"s fit the bill. a quango can have money eg for regional projects (e.g. SEEDA - South East England Development Agency) but the hallmark of a quango is that it purports to carry out a governmental function with the appearance of an independence, which it may not in fact have.

The reason why they are villified to some extent is that being selected to head or steer them is usually a financially lucrative reward for the friends and cronies of the political party in power, often unrelated to ability or expertise. \"

As far as the mentioned financial specialists figured it out, and as soon as it is discussed in terms of privatization, why it cannot be as simple as such? They have just figured out the case and a gas factory is just a model to analyse. The complete solution mentioned above is a meaning of this factory, but I don't think that it is OK to replace the word with its meaning in this case.