The story appears on

Page A3

August 12, 2011

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Nation

Rail bridge too close for comfort

DOZENS of families are being forced to move after a railway bridge was built over their homes in Hefei in the eastern province of Anhui.

The houses are to be demolished to make way for the project.

The bridge will carry a high-speed train service linking Anhui's capital Hefei and Bangbu, one of the province's major traffic hubs. It crosses over the roofs of several residential buildings in Hefei's Changfeng County, though the residential community was planned and built much earlier, the website of the People's Daily reported yesterday.

Buildings underneath the bridge are around 22 meters tall while the structure is just over 30 meters, the report said.

A total of 84 households are having to move while others in the complex further away from the bridge face an uncertain future. A Hefei-based real estate company which developed the community said it acquired the land in 2003 and sold most of the units in 2009 but was told by the local government to halt the business last April.

Zhang Meiying, a sales manager with the company, said that the planning and building of the residences were in accordance with the law.

Zhang said units had sold out in four of the planned six buildings. "The bridge forced us to cut part of the structure of an uncompleted condo and cancel the building of another one."

Tao Gang, a public relations official with the government of Shuangdun Town, said the structure was part of the Hefei-Bangbu high-speed railway jointly developed by the Ministry of Railways and the Anhui provincial government.

"It is a key project. We received notice last April that buildings in the way had to be demolished," Tao said.

Tao added that owners may receive 4,100 yuan (US$641) per square meter as compensation or move to new homes which would be built nearby.

Gu Xiaodi, an official with the Hefei development and reform committee, the city's planning body, said the railway had been planned much later than the residences.

"It was not until last year that the railway had its route decided," Gu said.



 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend