File photo: VCG

Shanghai Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development Co (Lujiazui Corporation) said on Sunday that it will take legal means to reveal the truth amid a legal case over polluted land in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province that involves Suzhou Lv'an Real Estate Development and Suzhou Steel Group.

The Shanghai-based property company said on November 4 that it sued five enterprises and institutions including Suzhou Steel Group after finding that 14 sites out of 17 owned by Suzhou Lv'an Real Estate Development Co-Lujiazui Corporation's subsidiary had soil pollution problems, and it filed a claim for compensation of 10.04 billion yuan ($1.38 billion) against Suzhou Steel Group.

In 2016, Suzhou Steel Group listed 95 percent of its wholly owned subsidiary Suzhou Lv'an Real Estate Development Co, and the subsidiaries under Lujiazui Corp jointly bid for that stake.

The statement on November 4 noted that the area and degree of pollution were far more than the levels disclosed in the listing of the Suzhou Steel Group since 2022, and the case has gained rising attention from the public with the more than 10 billion yuan in compensation.

The issues were identified in 2021 during the process for an international school in Suzhou to obtain a school permit, which was built on one of the polluted sites, according to a report by China Business Journal.

In 2008, Suzhou Steel Group purchased the sites for 648 million yuan. In 2016, the group transferred 95 percent of its shares with 8.53 billion yuan due to an industrial transformation, performance decline and other reasons, according to a report by the China Business Journal.

Suzhou Steel Group said on Friday in a statement on its official WeChat account that the group truthfully disclosed that the sites under Suzhou Lv'an were partially polluted, with the full report and results of an investigation conducted by third-party professional agencies.

It said it had clearly indicated in the asset evaluation report that some of the land parcels were formerly steel coking and chemical production areas, which may have soil contamination risks. The consortium was aware of the above-mentioned situation at the time of the transaction and undertook to accept all status quo, defects and risks.

Yan Yuejin, research director at Shanghai-based E-house China R&D Institute, stressed the importance of implementing systematic assessments on the current and potential hazards of polluted sites while implementing necessary fixes if possible for those already being used, while further adjusting the usage for unfinished projects.

Global Times