Chapter 553

One afternoon, Lu Fan visited five unfinished buildings, assigned responsibility for the problems to specific people, set a deadline and granted full authority; he also made a statement in front of everyone, streamlining procedures and letting the government bear losses if necessary, with everything prioritizing the people's interests—if problems arise, I will take responsibility!

Night fell, and under the surrounding lights, the unfinished buildings lay pitch black and joined together; this year is the sixth year that the Lihua Lido residential complex has been unfinished!

To the north of Meilidu stands the more locally famous unfinished building, Lihua Jiayuan Jiayuan, silently standing in the night as well; both residential complexes belong to the same developer.

A few years ago, the Nanyuan City Housing Management Center, to solve employees' housing problems, purchased the commercial residences of Lihua Jiayuan via group buying, targeting 1,115 cadres and workers, accumulating approximately 260 million yuan in group purchase payments. The project was slated for delivery in 2018, but to date only the main framework has been completed.

"The group-purchase apartments of the Housing Management Center have all become unfinished buildings." When discussing unfinished buildings, many locals of Nanyuan City self-mock in this way. This sentence is brief yet comprehensive, information-rich, accurately descriptive, and shocking to hear!

Nowadays, the spot facing the street to the north is a large pit, fenced off, overgrown with weeds.

Entering the residential complex, Lu Fan saw a notice titled "Safety Matters Notification" posted by the developer at the elevator entrance: "Because the project-related facilities are still incomplete, occupancy conditions are not yet met……Owners may proceed with renovation, but moving in is strictly prohibited."

However, some impatient owners have already moved in, as many lights are lit upstairs.

Upon seeing the Municipal Party Secretary arrive at the complex, a large crowd of people soon gathered around; Lu Fan faced them calmly.

"Lu Secretary, when we bought the house we were full of hope, but now we are full of regret! When the building was under construction, promotional ads blanketed the sky, promising a swimming pool and sports facilities, and everyone was taken in. Who would have thought the complex would become a years‑long unfinished building—we're suffering!"

"Lu Secretary, the developer promised that the 'five certificates' would be made up later; I paid 30% of the purchase price, a total of 200,000 yuan. Since the developer lacks the five certificates, we cannot get a bank mortgage and can only scrape together full payment. At the time we thought that, although the developer presold in violation of regulations, the government was backing it, so we had no guard and were thus deceived!"

"Lu Secretary, our complex has become a laughingstock of the whole city, and even the children's school districts cannot be resolved…"

……

Looking at the faces before him—some sad, some angry, some helpless, with some even silently shedding tears—Lu Fan felt a mix of emotions, and he resolutely said: "Because the Municipal Party Committee and City Government failed in their work and supervision, the complex cannot be occupied, letting everyone suffer injustice! Here, I, on behalf of the Municipal Party Committee and City Government, sincerely apologize to you!"

"Please rest assured; I will personally take charge of handling Lihua Jiayuan. I promise to present a feasible solution within a week, reorganize the bad assets to meet every owner's reasonable demands! Within one month, Building 4 will resume work and production, clearly designated as a 'guaranteed delivery' project, and within six months I will surely hand over the houses to all owners!"

Hearing the resounding, forceful reply, the on‑site owners were overjoyed, feeling full of hope; cheers and applause erupted one after another. Everyone in Nanyuan knows that Secretary Lu keeps his word—his promises have never gone unfulfilled.

Just as Lu Fan was about to leave, he saw a "ball of meat" rolling over, and the director of the Municipal Housing and Construction Bureau introduced: "Secretary, this complex's developer is Huang Qi!"

Seeing the Municipal Party Secretary regard him with a scrutinizing gaze, Huang Qi flashed a fawning smile and said enthusiastically: "Welcome, Secretary Lu, to inspect and guide work at the Lihua Jiayuan project! Just now I heard my subordinates report, only then learning of your arrival; I ran all the way over and am still late—please forgive my negligence, Secretary Lu."

Lu Fan gave him no face, speaking sternly: "Mr. Huang, the owners' urgent demand is: when will the unfinished building resume construction? When will they obtain the property certificates?"

Huang Qi's face reddened, and he replied sheepishly: "Secretary Lu, our company has encountered certain difficulties; please have the government extend a helping hand to tide us over. Once the funding issue is resolved, we will surely fight day and night to finish as quickly as possible and hand over the houses to the owners."

Lu Fan bluntly said: "You can only eat what your bowl holds; you lack the ability yet dare to spread your operations so wide. If you are insolvent and lose operational capacity, you should go bankrupt—since the people have paid their money, they must receive their homes."

Huang Qi hurriedly said: "Secretary Lu, I will think of a solution as soon as possible!" He readily agreed, at least to get through the immediate situation.

Lu Fan, with a solemn expression and a torch‑like stare fixed on Huang Qi, said in an extremely stern tone: "I hereby solemnly notify you: you have only three days! Within three days I must see a feasible solution! Otherwise the government will intervene and replace the contractor!"

Moreover, the owners of Building 4, who have suffered six years of torment at your hands and endured countless pain and agony, you must compensate them appropriately!

"Mr. Huang, I warn you: if you cannot come up with something within the three‑day limit, you'll see how I deal with you!" Having said that, Lu Fan turned and left decisively, leaving Huang Qi standing there dazed, a picture of bewilderment, disheveled in the wind.

On the way back, Mayor Su Xiang Hai quietly said to Lu Fan: "Back then, several projects of Lihua Jiayuan were pursued through investment promotion, approved by Wang Haiyang, with CPPCC Chairman Qin Tianyang taking specific charge; he was then a standing committee vice mayor. Secretary, I've heard that Huang Qi is following the path of Deputy Governor Peng!"

"Peng Dezhi?" Lu Fan couldn't help but frown; no wonder they dared leave the project unfinished for six years, causing many to withdraw their purchases—it turns out they felt invincible!

Around eight o'clock, a Coaster bus drove into the Municipal Party Committee compound; the government canteen had just prepared the meals, and Lu Fan had all the research participants eat there, even specially serving two bottles of old wine from the pawnshop, so that nobody would go home hungry.

Being able to eat and drink with the secretary delighted everyone, and the day's fatigue vanished instantly!

The next morning, Lu Fan led the same team to supervise the Sanshengcheng real‑estate project.

This residential complex had been exposed by the "Focus Interview" program, and the development used under‑reinforced steel bars.

At that time, the Nanyuan City Government issued a notice to halt work on the project.

On site, what met the eyes was a tower crane hanging idle in midair, like a stopped clock, a desolate scene.

The director of the Housing and Construction Bureau, Lu Jing, reported: "Secretary, Sanshengcheng has pre‑sold 3,400 commercial housing units externally, but the planning and construction approval procedures are incomplete; the project has already built and allocated 1,500 units, while the remaining 1,900 units have not yet begun construction. Of those 1,900 units, 380 households have already refunded their purchase payments, 510 households have applied for refunds, and 1,010 households demand that construction start as soon as possible. Over the years, buyers of Sanshengcheng have repeatedly petitioned."

Lu Fan let out a sigh and said: "These unfinished buildings—50% of the projects lack a land use right certificate, 60% lack a construction planning permit, 70% lack a construction permit, and more than half began sales without obtaining a commodity housing pre‑sale permit."

Developers only see how much money they can make after demolition, without calculating how much they would lose if demolition cannot proceed; this tests the developer's management ability, financial reserves, market risk assessment, and overall operational coordination.

The emergence and occurrence of problematic housing projects in Nanyuan are the price of urbanization! For the sake of performance projects, some leaders have loosened lending policies to let developers acquire land and build projects; many are merely verbal promises, without stamps or signed contracts, so the projects naturally become illegal land use.

Originally this plot could be used for housing, but later, according to urban development needs, it might have been rezoned for public use. Moreover, since no contract was signed, the developer poured in money but had no certificates, cannot sell, and thus became 100% an unfinished building.

When problems arise in this market, the government bears unavoidable responsibility, and at the same time it tests the government's governing, control, and supervisory abilities.

"Xianghai, over 1,500 homes have left thousands heart‑broken and sleepless; the problem must be solved—you take personal charge of this project! If the project does not revive, then the government will intervene, using judicial means and asset restructuring to reclaim it. Compared with the happiness of thousands, a single enterprise is trivial; always remember we must stand with the masses! Go ahead boldly—any issues will be my full responsibility! I hope that when I step down as Municipal Party Secretary of Nanyuan, there will be no more unfinished buildings in the city."

Just as he was about to leave the construction site, Lu Fan's phone rang; seeing the number was the provincial government's landline, he answered.

"Lu Minister, I am Peng Dezhi!"

Lu Fan replied with a smile: "It's Governor Dezhi, what instructions do you have?"

"Lu Minister, those words are too weighty—I dare not give instructions; I've come to apologize to you!"

Lu Fan quickly said: "Your words are even heavier—I cannot bear them!"

"Huang Qi is someone I recommended to Nanyuan City; back then he was quite capable, and his past projects enjoyed a good reputation in the industry. I meant well, supporting Nanyuan's development—after all, I once worked there—but I never imagined that Huang Qi's company would run into trouble, causing two projects to become unfinished and putting the Municipal Party Committee and City Government on the defensive."

Lu Fan replied: "People don't have eyes in the back of their heads, and circumstances keep changing; Nanyuan City will help enterprises revitalize projects, but enterprises must also show their own sincerity. If he is a hopeless muddle that can't be helped, for the vital interests of tens of thousands of residents the government must not hesitate to take compulsory measures, reclaiming the project according to law and evidence—I gave him three days. Governor Dezhi, rest assured, Nanyuan will always be grateful for your support and assistance."

"What you said is correct; policies are always changing, and sometimes if we put ourselves in others' shoes, enterprises too are victims of policy. I personally believe we should strive to revitalize projects as much as possible, guaranteeing enterprises' most basic interests—this is also essential for a good business environment and represents Nanyuan's external image."

"Thank you for your guidance, Governor Dezhi; I will give it careful consideration."