Govt official sacked possibly over five-star hotel project

(ECNS) – A local official in Anhui province was removed from his position this month for bringing down a five-star hotel, possibly for personal reasons, the Paper reports.

Fang Xiping, municipal Party secretary of Anhui's Huaian city, was under investigation for severe discipline violations possibly linked to the demolishment of the city's only five-star hotel, still under construction in March.

The hotel building, already reaching 10th-floor-level, was intended to be a city landmark for entertainment, shopping, sports and conventions.

The former government initiated the construction in 2012 as a project to lure investment. The hotel had a total input of about 200 million yuan ($32 million).

It's unclear why Fang decided to halt the hotel project, but many believe he did it for personal benefits.

A popular explanation is that Fang didn't like the building, which was to the south of his office and impeded the positive Feng Shui.

Other people say Fang did it because the project was initiated by the previous government and wouldn't boost his resume.

The local government hasn't responded to the Paper's questions as of this writing. Earlier on it claimed that the hotel investors withdrew from the construction, a claim that was refuted by a Xiamen property company that had a 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) stake in the project.