Cartoon/Zhang Jianhui
The Zhejiang Jinhua World Trade Center project is a construction project that is classified as a key project by both the Zhejiang Province and Jinhua City. At the same time, it is also the largest illegal construction in the area. Not only did it change the function of the building, but it also exceeded the approved construction area by nearly 40,000 square meters. Local residents call it the "most powerful illegal building" not only because of the large scale of the illegal construction, but also because it is located just across the street from the Jinhua City Government building, with a straight-line distance of only over 100 meters.
Illegally Building a Five-Star Hotel on Commercial Land
The Jinhua World Trade Center project is located in the commercial center of the Jiangnan area of Jinhua City, which is the most prosperous commercial area in the city. The developer is Zhejiang Huayue Real Estate Co., Ltd. The project was listed as a key service industry project in the province by the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission in 2009. It was also listed as a key construction project by the Jinhua Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government in 2009 and 2010, as well as a key technological transformation project in 2010.
According to the planning scheme approved by the Jinhua City Planning Bureau, the Jinhua World Trade Center construction project has 3-5 floors of attached buildings above ground, with a commercial function, and a main building with 24 floors and a height of 94 meters, serving as an office building. The underground area is for commercial and parking functions. The total construction area of the plot is 25,447 square meters, with a building area of 130,262 square meters.
However, as the project progressed, many observant residents of Jinhua discovered that the building was being used as a five-star hotel, and the building area had significantly exceeded the approved plan. A person in charge of the sales department of Huayue Real Estate revealed that due to its superior location and high-end shops, the prices of the commercial spaces in the Jinhua World Trade Center start at least at 20,000 yuan. Based on this estimate, the illegally constructed building will bring the developer at least 800 million yuan in additional profits.
No Measures Taken for a Year and a Half
According to information provided by the Jinhua City Urban Management Department, the construction of the Jinhua World Trade Center project started in April 2008, and the main structure was completed in November 2009. However, it is puzzling that no administrative law enforcement agency took measures to stop such obvious illegal activities throughout the entire construction period.
Ms. Qian, the owner of the World Trade Center, said, "After the completion of the main structure in November 2009, we found that the actual construction consisted of 31 floors for the main building and 5 floors for the attached building. The height of the main building was 118 meters, and the building area was obviously much larger than planned." Starting from August 2010, more than a hundred owners of the World Trade Center shops repeatedly reported the developer's illegal construction to the Jinhua Municipal Government, Jinhua Municipal Construction Bureau, Jinhua Municipal Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, Jinhua City Planning Bureau, Jinhua Development Zone Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, Jinhua Development Zone Planning Bureau, and other relevant departments. From October 2010 to June of this year, on the 15th of every month, they reported the situation to the Jinhua Municipal Government.
Finally, the Jinhua Municipal Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau conducted an investigation. According to the technical survey conducted by a professional surveying and mapping company, the actual land area occupied by the Jinhua World Trade Center project is 28,277.71 square meters, exceeding the approved area by 2,830.71 square meters; the actual building area is 170,180.45 square meters, exceeding the approved area by 39,918.45 square meters.
An old cadre of the Jinhua Municipal Government angrily said, "Such a large illegal building is right in front of the city government building. Everyone knows about it, but no one took any measures to stop it. I feel uncomfortable every time I enter or leave the gate and see this building, as if I have swallowed a fly."
>>Developer
Thinking the Post-Punishment Process Would Be Simple
"Our main mistake was the 'act first, report later' approach. The illegal construction is a fact, and it is definitely wrong to exceed the approved plan without following the regulations." A person in charge of Huayue Real Estate said in an interview that the developer had simplified the problem too much: at that time, there was no five-star hotel in the urban area of Jinhua, and the city leaders wanted to have one to enhance the city's image. Since this project is located in the commercial center, there were considerations to convert the office building into a hotel. "Originally, we thought we could coordinate and apply for a change in the plan through normal channels to increase the plot ratio, but we didn't expect that it would be impossible to make the change!"
"On the surface, this developer had a lucky mentality, but in fact, in the past few years, it was not uncommon for developers to create illegal buildings, then change the plan and legalize the illegal construction through relationships and by paying relevant fees and fines." Mr. Wang, who is engaged in real estate development in Hangzhou, told reporters, "Compared to the huge profits brought by illegal construction, the fines are almost negligible. It is precisely in this context that developers have the impulse to engage in illegal construction, risking it even though they know it is illegal!"
>>Government
Confiscating the Illegal Construction Area and Imposing Fines
Li Guojian, the director of the Regulations Division of the Jinhua City Urban Management Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau, said in an interview that after receiving reports from the public, the law enforcement bureau immediately launched an investigation and prepared a report to be submitted to the municipal government. Due to the fact that this project is a key project at the provincial and municipal levels and involves multiple interest groups, the municipal government has been studying the related handling plan.
It was not until June 24, 2011, after multiple coordination meetings held by the Jinhua Municipal Government, that the Jinhua City Urban Management Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau made an administrative penalty decision to "confiscate the illegal construction area of the Jinhua World Trade Center project, which amounts to 39,918.45 square meters, and impose fines." The person in charge of the bureau said that this is the most severe punishment for illegal construction at present.
Zhao Hangsheng, the director of the Real Estate Research Institute of Zhejiang University, believes that although the punishment decision made by the Jinhua Municipal Government is very severe, it still cannot hide the weaknesses in administrative law enforcement. The design unit changed the design drawings without the permission of the planning department, and the construction unit continued construction based on the illegal change drawings provided by the developer without obtaining legal planning adjustment procedures. The supervision unit, after discovering the problem, still conducted project supervision based on the illegal change drawings provided by the developer without effectively stopping the construction. The planning, construction, and urban management departments, which should have been closely linked in terms of supervision and law enforcement, all failed at the same time, inevitably raising doubts.
Zhao Hangsheng said that although dealing with illegal construction in the most severe way is a case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, the most fundamental thing is to prevent problems before they occur and take decisive measures to stop illegal activities when they first appear. This not only reduces the losses caused by illegal construction to enterprises but also avoids damage to the image of the government.
Mr. Tang, a resident of Jinhua, represents the views of many ordinary citizens: "The government and urban management departments turned a blind eye to the illegal construction and then suddenly confiscated it. The dereliction of duty by the government has brought in billions of yuan in 'profits' from state-owned assets. This may seem like a good thing, but the damage to the image of the Party and the government is irreparable. Who will take responsibility for this?" According to Xinhua News Agency
>>Experts
Small Fines, Big Profits
According to the "Urban and Rural Planning Law of the People's Republic of China" implemented since 2008, if a construction project is carried out without obtaining a construction project planning permit or not in accordance with the provisions of the construction project planning permit, the county-level or higher local people's government urban and rural planning authority shall order the suspension of construction; if it is possible to take corrective measures to eliminate the impact on the implementation of the plan, a deadline shall be set for correction, and a fine of no less than 5% and no more than 10% of the construction project cost shall be imposed; if it is impossible to take corrective measures to eliminate the impact, a deadline shall be set for demolition, and if it cannot be demolished, the physical objects or illegal income shall be confiscated, and a fine of no more than 10% of the construction project cost may be imposed.
Real estate expert Ding Jiangang believes that the situation of developers "making big profits from small fines" was common when the laws and regulations were not perfect in the past. In recent years, in first-tier cities, relevant departments have been stricter in cracking down on illegal construction and the penalties have been more severe, so this phenomenon has been curbed to some extent. However, in some second- and third-tier cities, due to inadequate law enforcement and punishment, this situation still exists, and it is prone to insider trading and corruption.