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New housing estate for thousands at least 10km away

Shanghai will relocate thousands of people evicted from the site of the 2010 World Expo to new housing in a distant southern suburb, a move expected to be met with resistance from some residents.

A group of residents would be moved to a 151-hectare plot in Pujiang town, part of Minhang district, the Shanghai Housing and Land Resources Administration and local media said yesterday.

The new development will be at least 10km from the expo site. Lack of infrastructure and the distance from the city are common complaints of Shanghai residents forced to relocate to the suburbs.

One employee of the Shanghai Steel Plant now living on the future expo site said: 'The new housing is too far away. If the government policy regarding compensation is bad, we will refuse to move. Housing prices are too high and if the compensation is low we could not afford a new apartment.'

She added the government had yet to inform residents of compensation levels, but discussions were likely to start next month.  Media reports said not all residents displaced by the expo would be moved to the site.

Bidding opened on Tuesday  among domestic and overseas companies wanting to build the new housing, with six companies showing interest so far. Bidding will close on September 24.

Shanghai requires developers to make the housing 'affordable', defined as costing less than 3,500 yuan per square metre.

Estimates differ on how many residents will be moved for the expo. Officials have put the number at 17,500 households, but local media reports say it could be far higher.

The city hopes to start moving the residents next year.

Shanghai recently increased compensation for people living on the expo site by 37 per cent to a minimum of 5,700 yuan per square metre for their old homes, according to the housing administration.

Shanghai also announced this week that the expo site would cover at least 5.3 sq km, though the city has set aside about 6.7 sq km on both sides of the Huangpu River. The city has boosted the size of the site from earlier plans.



Expo site residents banished to suburbs