Costs of resettling people displaced by Yangtze River Delta projects a sensitive and uncertain issue for property firms
China Overseas Land & Investments, one of the mainland's biggest developers, said the costs of resettling people displaced by its new residential projects in Yangtze River Delta cities are reaching prohibitive levels.
'Resettlement compensation fees are rising like a rocket in Shanghai,' said Ge Yafei, general manager of subsidiary COB Development (Shanghai).
In central Shanghai resettlement costs are now more than 10,000 yuan per square metre, China Real Estate Business, published by the Construction Ministry, reported at the end of September.
One of COB's two projects in Shanghai is a 230,000 square metre development in Jianguo Road, Luwan district. Plans call for 700,000 square metres of gross floor area after completion, including 400,000 square metres for commercial use.
'We are doing the resettlement in several phases,' Mr Ge said. 'We have just finished one block of the seven that need to done. I estimate it will cost at least 20 billion yuan for the whole project.