Shanghai building fire victims mull new proposal
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At least 49 people have been confirmed died and more than 90 were injured after a high-rise apartment building caught fire in Shanghai. |
Survivors of the Jiaozhou Road building fire in Shanghai are considering a compensation proposal that offers 51,000 yuan (US$7,854) per square meter for their destroyed homes according to a deal given to them Sunday night.
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The Jing'an Construction Company, responsible for the November 15 fire, raised its cash compensation by 11 percent after its March compensation plan was met with dissatisfaction by the 100-plus victims.
The new offer is 70 percent higher than the value of the burnt property of 30,000 yuan per square meter at the time of the fire, determined by the Shanghai Urban Real Estate Appraisal Company, according to the new proposal.
Survivors can also choose to take a new home near the burnt building in Jing'an district, which will only become available in three and a half years.
The company could also pay for renovation in addition to cash compensation rounded up at 15,300 yuan per square meter for residents who wish to return to their old apartments in the burnt building, the third option offered in the proposal.
Lu Landi, a 21st-floor resident who now lives in a hotel, welcomed the official proposal with mixed feelings. "I accepted the March draft, which many residents were unsatisfied with. Of course I am glad to accept the new deal and hope it will be carried out soon," she told the Global Times Monday.
Hu Zhenqing, a 60-year-old survivor, said he was considering the first two options but has not yet decided. "It is unthinkable to move back to the burnt building," he told the Global Times.
One of the survivors, Wang Hong, who lost his wife and mother to the fire, told the Global Times that he would accept none of the three options.
"I hope the government will provide me with a new home now rather than offer cash compensation or a new home that I need to wait years for," he said. "I can't wait a couple of years to get a new home as my only daughter needs a stable environment to grow up in."
Hong Liming, an independent real estate agent, told the Global Times that the offer is within the price range for a secondhand apartment.
"The downtown area, including Jing'an and Luwan districts, has few new properties on the market," said Hong, "so the average price per square meter has shot up to 60,000 to 70,000 yuan."
Hong added that the Jiaozhou Road building was built in 1998, and plenty of apartments built at roughly that time are available.
A secondhand 120-square-meter apartment near Jing'an Temple is currently on the market for 3.8 million yuan, or 31,600 yuan per square meter.
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