The elevator installation projects in many residential areas in Shanghai have been "seriously delayed": is it due to the financial constraints of the construction company?

"I finally waited for the project to start, but half a year has passed and all I can see outside the building is a 'cement pit'." When talking about the process of installing an elevator in her building, Aunt Gui, a resident of Lane 309, Dongtiyuhui Road, Hongkou District, summed it up as "twists and turns". According to the promise of the construction agent and the contractor, after the construction started in February this year, Aunt Gui would be able to take the elevator to her home on the 7th floor on July 7. However, in the past six months, the construction progress has seriously deviated from the promise. "Even the current pit was caused by repeated complaints from residents."

Many complaints received by Shanghai's 12345 citizen service hotline show that elevator projects in many residential areas have encountered delays: either the project has been delayed or the construction party has been "three days of drying the net and two days of fishing" after the start of the project. Residents have paid the money, but their "elevator dream" has not been realized.

Behind the delay in adding elevators to old houses, what obstacles has this long-standing livelihood project in Shanghai encountered in its implementation?

"Dial '12345' once and you'll be here for a few days."

On September 10, the reporter went to the community at No. 309, Dongtiyuhui Road to learn about the situation. This is an old community built in the 1970s. The houses inside are 7 stories high. Compared with the 6-story old houses commonly seen in Shanghai, the desire for elevators is stronger. After entering the community and walking to the northernmost side, there are Building 3 and Building 4 of the community. Both buildings are "elevator-added" buildings, but the progress is very different: outside Building 4, the gray elevator shaft has been fully erected. After a person holding an eco-friendly bag raised his hand and swiped his card, the elevator door opened immediately, indicating that the elevator has been put into use normally. But outside Building 3, from a distance, you can only see the towering scaffolding, colorful woven cloth covering the steel piled on the side, and a construction baffle of a certain municipal company blocking one side...

△In the near part of the picture is the elevator installed in Building 4 which is already in normal use, and in the distance only the scaffolding can be seen on the outside of Building 3.

When I stepped into the scaffolding, I saw: a square pit made of cement, plus three vertical two-story steel frames, which is the "full picture" of the elevator in Building 3. The square pit was filled with rainwater, and the mosquitoes that nourished it bit the reporter's leg. On one side of the scaffolding, a "construction notice board" was hung, indicating that the elevator project of Building 3 was only started on May 13 this year, and the completion date was November 13 this year. It was constructed by "Shanghai Qinyi Industrial Group Co., Ltd.". At first glance at the information on the notice board, isn't the elevator project in Building 3 just slightly delayed? "This is false information," the residents revealed the truth: It turned out that Buildings 3 and 4 started the elevator project at almost the same time, and both had signed elevator contracts at the end of 2021, and were both built by "Qingyi Industrial".

△Inside the scaffolding for installing an elevator in Building 3, one can only see a square pit made of cement and three upright steel frames that are two stories high.

△Inside the scaffolding for installing an elevator in Building 3, one can only see a square pit made of cement and three upright steel frames that are two stories high.

What happened to the elevator project in Building 3? Aunt Gui, who lives on the 7th floor and is the leader of the "elevator trio", traced the "twists and turns" to the reporter. After the contract was signed and the fees were paid at the end of 2021, due to the delay in the transplanting of greening in the community and the impact of the epidemic, the construction party did not officially enter the site for construction until April and May last year. Unexpectedly, the construction was obstructed by Room 102. As a last resort, in October last year, Aunt Gui simply spent more than 2 million to buy Room 102, completely clearing the obstacles to adding an elevator. However, since then, the elevator project has not resumed construction as expected. At the beginning of this year, under the coordination of the local neighborhood committee, the construction agent and the construction party came up with a "progress plan" and promised to start construction on February 25 this year. This is why there was a saying that "let residents take the elevator on July 7."

△The picture shows the "progress plan" put forward by the construction agent and the construction party at the beginning of this year under the coordination of the local neighborhood committee. It was promised that construction will start on February 25 this year and residents will be able to take the elevator on July 7.

At the end of February, seeing that the construction party did not enter the site as agreed, Aunt Gui called "12345" for the first time to complain and urge them. The complaint worked. On March 3, the construction team finally officially entered the site, "but they only worked for one day and then stopped." On March 12, Aunt Gui called "12345" again and "urged" the construction team to start construction for four days from March 18 to 21. During these four days, the construction party dug out the foundation pit of the elevator, and then stopped work again on the grounds of waiting for the relocation of the sewage pipe. This stoppage lasted almost a month. On April 16, the sewage pipe was finally relocated, and the construction party also entered the site from April 18 to 19 to solidify the foundation pit. Then there was another long stoppage. "In total, there were only 7 days of construction in March and April," said Aunt Gui.

Every bit of progress was calculated on a monthly basis, and the subsequent construction was roughly like this: every time residents called "12345" to complain, they would receive construction work that could take a few hours or a day or two. On May 13, the gas pipeline was relocated; on July 9, the foundation pit construction was completed; on August 9, the scaffolding was completed; on August 19, after two hours of construction, three steel frames were erected; on August 29, after one hour of construction, brackets for the relocation of the overhead power lines were welded on the three steel frames; on September 4, the overhead power lines were relocated; on September 9, the steel for building the elevator frame was transported in...

Conduct a survey on projects with slow or stagnant construction

The "competition" with the construction agent and the contractor for more than half a year has exhausted the residents of Building 3, Lane 309, Dongtiyuhui Road: "At this rate, when will we be able to use the elevator?"

△At the construction site of the elevator project in Building 3, Lane 309, Dongtiyuhui Road, a "construction notice" hung on one side of the scaffolding shows that the completion date is November 13 this year. Compared with the previous commitment to complete the project on July 7, the completion date on the notice has been significantly delayed. However, residents believe that according to the current construction efficiency of the construction party, it is probably impossible to use the elevator at this time.

The reporter learned through "12345" that since this year, there have been many complaints about the slow and stagnation of construction of elevator installation projects.

What is the reason for the slow and stagnant construction of the elevator? The owners of Building 3, Lane 309, Dongtiyuhui Road speculated that the construction agent may be short of funds, because the relocation of various pipelines usually requires the construction agent to pay funds, but after the residents complained, they learned that the construction agent always dragged its feet in paying the funds, and some fees were often paid only after the residents repeatedly urged them.

On September 10, the reporter also contacted Yao, a person in charge of Qinyi Industrial, the construction agent. After hearing the reporter's intention, Yao immediately hung up the phone and stopped answering. The reporter then contacted Qiu, a person in charge of the construction party, who denied that the construction agent was short of funds, but attributed the slow construction to "the cumbersome operation of pipeline relocation", "avoiding the construction of the beautiful home in the community", "waiting for the asphalt paving of the community road to backfill the sewage pipe excavation", "hot summer weather" and other reasons. However, Yao said that these factors no longer exist, and he will follow up with the installation of the steel structure after the recent rainy days in Shanghai are over.

The real reason for the delay in the construction of residential elevators is yet to be verified by relevant departments. However, the reporter learned from many industry insiders that the delay in the construction of elevators in many residential areas in Shanghai this year is indeed due to many factors. Objectively, in the first half of this year, the elevator project was affected by factors such as the difficulty in removing debris, the suspension of construction on hot days, and the widespread occurrence of overhead lines crossing scaffolding that did not meet safety regulations and needed to be stopped for rectification; on the other hand, due to the reduction in profits from elevators, the entire industry is facing a reshuffle, and the financial difficulties of some construction companies are difficult to avoid, which is also the reason for the wrangling phenomenon in the payment of various fees during the installation of elevators.

At the same time, according to the reporter's understanding, the phenomenon of slow construction of elevators in relevant communities has also attracted the attention of management departments. Recently, the municipal elevator management unit has also issued targeted work reminders, requiring the elevator management departments of each district to take measures, such as timely investigation of the financial management of the construction unit and the conflicts among residents before the start of the elevator installation project, so as to avoid the situation of construction stagnation after the foundation pit is excavated; and for the elevator installation projects with slow construction progress, the reasons should be analyzed one by one, and the construction units should be guided and urged to speed up the performance of the contract through coordination, interviews and other means.

Residents of several communities that are installing elevators hope that the city's elevator management department should conduct a comprehensive survey as soon as possible, find out the reasons for the delays in construction projects according to the above work tips, and take corresponding measures. At the same time, last year, the Shanghai Housing Authority said that it would establish a "blacklist" mechanism for construction units that install elevators. Citizens hope that construction units that delay construction without reason should be included in the "blacklist" and their qualifications for installing elevators should be revoked.

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