Liaoning halts skyscraper project

Liaoning halts skyscraper project
By Lydia Chen 2007-7-13
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CONSTRUCTION authorities in Liaoning Province halted an ongoing project to build the tallest high-rise in China's northeast amid the country's efforts to prevent investment in fixed assets from overheating.

Liaoning's Department of Construction declared in a statement posted on its Website that it found the project of the Northeastern World Trade Plaza in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning, had breached six laws since construction had started in May 2006.

The statement said Beijing Huaijian Group, the contracted builder, would be banned from any construction project in Liaoning for three years, Liaoning Evening News reported today.

The authority said the project started construction without government approval, the statement said.

Beijing Ririhao Construction Inspection & Supervision Co was also deprived of qualifications for the project as its supervisors and inspectors were seldom at the site, the statement said.

Beijing Ririhao was also banned from Liaoning for three years, according to the statement.

The statement also said many construction workers were found working without safety helmets although the authority had previously requested the project be suspended over the problem.

"The potential danger still lingers and the project is going against the laws," the statement said after the construction authority rechecked the site again on June 20.

Seven floors of the 66-story building have been built since construction began in May 2006.

The 260-meter-high building was designed to be host offices and commercial space.

China curbed project approvals across the country as investment in real estate, factories and other urban fixed assets continued to soar in the first four months of this year, which, the government worries, may trigger economic instability, according to previous reports.