in full liquidation of the real estate giant Evergrande, the authorities are organizing to try to complete projects as quickly as possible

Since the bankruptcy of the real estate developer, buildings under construction have been abandoned throughout the country. To deal with the anger of owners who bought off plan, the authorities are trying to react.

There is almost total silence in this neighborhood in the large southern suburbs of Beijing, China. In the middle of the homes, a huge real estate project is abandoned. Nine large, half-finished fifteen-story towers overlook the road, with no activity around. Only a guard monitors the site. “The construction site is closed and no one is working here. There is no longer a single worker. I’m all alone and you can’t come in“, he warns.

Earlier this week, a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of real estate giant Evergrande, which in 2020 became the most indebted developer in the world. China is experiencing an unprecedented real estate crisis, with abandoned construction projects across the country. The authorities are organizing themselves to try to complete all these projects as quickly as possible.

“The windows and elevators have still not been installed”

Residents of the neighborhood confirm to us that these ghost buildings are indeed part of a real estate project launched by the developer Evergrande. “The company went bankrupt, we see that the windows and elevators have still not been installed“, notes a man, who faces some 1,069 apartments in this sector, which should have been delivered… in 2015.

To deal with the anger of owners who bought off plan, the authorities are trying to react: a state company has therefore taken over the Evergrande project. “The delivery date of the apartments is not that promised by Evergrande, it is impossible to achieve. We’re trying to catch upassures this man who sells the apartments. We guarantee that homes will be delivered to buyers. It’s just the delivery that is postponed.“

A gradual resumption of construction sites

This takeover made it possible to complete a few buildings and attract new owners. Like this young woman who has just purchased an apartment: “I bought it very recently because I learned that it was a state enterprise that took over the project, which guarantees the delivery of the housingshe admits. The apartment is ready and is not sold off plan. I’m calmer like that.“

Despite the aid from public finances following the bankruptcy of Evergrande, resources remain limited. Next to the residential towers, the developer had planned to build a huge shopping center, but the project also had to be abandoned. For the moment, the land is a wasteland without any buildings, a symbol of the unprecedented real estate crisis hitting China.