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Owner teed off by closure of super-luxury golf club in Shanghai sues for US$46m

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The bulldozers get to work at Shanghai Orient Golf Club. File Photo
Alice Yanin Shanghai

The owner of a golf course demolished by authorities in Shanghai is seeking compensation of 300 million yuan (US$46 million).

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Shanghai Orient Golf Club was ordered to close as part of a nationwide overhaul of the industry that is targeting golfing venues that pollute the environment.

Pan Zhongping, president of Orient Golf, a chain on the mainland and in Taiwan, said Song­jiang district government ordered the closure because the course was next to the Huangpu River, a drinking water source.

Mainland law forbade golf venues to be built near drinking water sources, officials told him.

“I can’t agree with this order,” Pan said. “We acquired all the necessary administrative approvals and we passed the environment assessment by the district’s environment protection bureau.”

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He said local farmers used 20 to 30 times more fertilisers and pesticides on their land than he did in maintaining the course.

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