WORKERS in Dapeng New Area started to demolish 38 unfinished villas that were built 24 years ago Sunday morning.

    The project in Xichong Community, Kuichong Subdistrict, covering a land lot of 100 mu (6.66 hectares), has been plagued by disputes concerning ownership and partnership, and failed to be completed even after mediation efforts by municipal and area government departments.

    The villa project was a development by the community. When it started 24 years ago, Wang Jiabao was a junior middle school student. Wang, now nearly 40, said, “I witnessed the launch of the project and the various disputes surrounding it. The failed project damages villagers’ interest, and it became a scar of the community.”

    The main structures of the villas were finished but were all without windows and doors. Blotches appeared on the exteriors as the unfinished villas became ghost houses.

    Villagers saw rays of hope on Dec. 6 last year when Wang Jingdong, Party chief of the new area, and Li Yong, head of the new area administration committee, visited the project and convened a three-hour seminar on how to solve the problems. The government later proposed to revise the official planning for the land lot where the villas stand, allowing the unfinished houses to be demolished to give way for a new project that will see the community receive legal compensation. Part of the project will be listed as an urban renewal project qualifying it for government incentives.

    After three meetings, residents of the community approved the proposal, and the 38 villas will be demolished in 10 days.

    Shenzhen is known for high housing prices and a shortage of land for housing development. However, the city still has seen 52 failed housing projects that left the unfinished buildings as eyesores.

    (Lin Min)