Society

Illegal buildings raise concerns

By Shi Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-04-14 08:03

SHANGHAI - Four residential buildings in East China's Jiangsu province, each originally designed to be six stories tall, have reached as high as 22 stories despite warnings from local construction authorities.

The blatant violation has now resulted in nearby estates developing cracks and wall crevices.

Construction on four buildings of Boda New City, located in downtown Lianyungang, started in early 2007. According to the original design plan approved in 2002, the buildings would each have six floors. Lianyungang Boda Real Estate Development Company, the developer, requested permission to add another 11 stories to each of the structures.

The local planning authority approved the developer's request in August 2006.

But now, the buildings, which should have been 17 stories high, each have five extra floors, said Zhang Qilin, director of the regulation department of Lianyungang Planning Bureau.

This illegal expansion did not catch the authority's attention until September 2008, when the local planning bureau said that it was unnecessary to adjust the construction plan, because the expansion will have little impact on the city as a whole.

The construction of the four buildings went on smoothly after the developer paid a 250,000-yuan fine.

However, according to State broadcaster CCTV, the developer started expansion right from the beginning of construction by extending the foundation eastward by 2 meters.

The developer added more than 2,000 square meters of space to the structures, making at least 10 million yuan privately, the report said.

Boda New City did not even have a construction permit when the work started in January 2007, it said.

"We are not authorized to impose any compulsory measures," Liang Bo, office director of Lianyungang Construction Bureau, said when asked why the project was not stopped.

The 18th floors of the four buildings have now been opened for booking.

What is more astonishing is that Liu Shuyao, deputy director of Lianyungang Housing Management Bureau, is on the list of homeowners in the community.

"Liu has bought a 360 sq m apartment in our community," Liu Lanwen, director of the community member committee, told CCTV.

And while the property developer is enjoying massive profits from the illegal expansion, residents staying near the community are living life in constant fear.

"There are about 300 crevices in my apartment. What if the cracks get bigger?" added a middle-aged resident.

Admitting that five floors of the four structures are illegal, the developer ruled out the possibility of now demolishing them.

"We are incapable of dismantling the illegal upper floors without affecting the rest of the buildings," said Wang Chunqing, general assistant manager of the Lianyungang Boda Real Estate Development Company.

China Daily