Demolished 4-star hotel called a wasteful move
- Source: Global Times
- [01:41 February 08 2010]
- Comments
The 22-storey Wuhu Hotel in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province is being demolished to make way for a new hotel on Saturday. Some saw it as a city landmark. Photo: CFP
By Lin Meilian
A 22-storey hotel in Nanchang, East China's Jiangxi Province, considered a city landmark by some, was demolished over the weekend to make way for a spanking new five-star hotel.
The destruction surprised some residents who called it wasteful spending since the facility was just 13 years old. But the owner said it was a poor hotel with safety problems.
The Lake View Hotel, built in 1997, was torn down in just eight minutes Saturday.
Li Yong, a resident, told the Global Times that he felt sorry for the loss.
"I hope the government will do some planning before building anything," he said. "And don't dump it just because it cannot catch up with the city's development."
The developer said the space will be used to build a 500 million yuan ($73 million) five-star hotel, jxnews. com reported Sunday.
Some experts described the demolition a "big annoying waste."
"The hotel is worth at least millions of yuan. Even though the demolition is a business decision, it is still a big waste of public property," said Pan Yang, a civil engineering professor at East China Jiaotong University.
Pan also expressed concern about pollution from the debris.
"The 40,000 tons of construction waste that could never turn into agricultural soil would have to take up most of the waste processing fields," he added.
Qi Xiaohang, general manager of the new Lake View Hotel to be constructed, told a reporter that the old hotel had problems.
"First, the old hotel had no parking lot, making it difficult to meet the requirements of a five-star hotel," Qi said. He said the old structure had some safety problems.
He added that the main pillars of the old hotel had defects, which would affect the structure of the building.
The design of the old hotel also posed safety problems, and demolition is the only way to handle the issue.
Construction for the new hotel started immediately after the demolition, Qi said.
He said the new hotel, which will open in May 2012, would have 25 floors and parking spaces for 300 vehicles. The new building will also be earthquake-proof.
