A PLAN to construct an 870,000-square-meter park in Buxin, Luohu District, has been shelved for decade due to land requisition and compensation disputes, local Chinese-language media reported Thursday.

    “I moved here in 2007, expecting the park to be completed. Only a small lawn was put in several years ago,” said a resident, surnamed Liu.

    Luohu District planned to build the Weiling Park as early as in 1998 for the nearly 300,000 residents living in the Buxin area. The project was halted after a 4,000-square-meter lawn was built, 0.5 percent of the total planned area.

    The land for the planned park is owned by four communities: Shuibei, Buxin, Dushu and Xiawu. The district government didn’t claim the land because its slope is higher than 25 degrees. But when the government decided to claim the land to build a park, the four communities demanded the government reserve part of the land for the villages, or swap another parcel of land for the villages. The government agreed to pay compensation, but couldn’t meet the demands of the groups representing the areas.

    “Land requisition is the major cause for the project delay,” Wen Bo, a manager with Weiling Park Management said.

    The park management had attempted to build a toilet next to the completed lawn. After completing one wall, a village patrol pulled it down, saying the project wasn’t allowed before relocation negotiation was done.

    “The two lawns were put in several years ago to prevent natural disasters after the consent of the shareholding companies,” said Wen.

    Park management is reporting to Luohu District authorities, hoping to complete the toilet and other sports facilities in the completed area.

    The park management is considering renting the land to complete the park. (Han Ximin)