Editorials

Construction problems

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-11 07:40

The real estate sector has become one of the main drivers of China's economic growth but not all property developers and construction material makers would pass the honesty test. The quality of homes being built is important not just for homebuyers, but also for the healthy development of the industry and the country's progress.

In a recent scandal, some real estate developers in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, collaborated with steel plants to make reinforcing steel bars (rebars) much thinner than the required standard. More than 100 small steel plants are reportedly making such rebars, which developers use at some 100 of the 1,000 construction sites in Xi'an.

In another scam, realtors in Hefei, Anhui province, were using bamboos as substitutes for rebars in prefabricated concrete slabs.

Such roguish acts will definitely reduce construction costs, but they will also compromise the strength of the buildings, making them vulnerable to earthquakes and other natural disasters, and reducing their life span greatly.

Although local governments have begun investigating the scandals, it seems the problem is not restricted to real estate developers and the rebar makers. Sub-standard construction materials would not have been used in the first place had the housing quality supervisors done their job as watchdogs.

Then there is the doubt that some of the supervisors might have been bribed to turn a blind eye to the harmful practice. And even if the doubt is unfounded, the supervisors should be charged with dereliction of duty.

To nurture a healthy real estate market, the unscrupulous builders and construction material makers should be punished according to law for jeopardizing the safety of homebuyers.