BEIJING - A video clip on YouTube showing how a Chinese construction company built a hotel in six days has set off heated discussions over Chinese efficiency.

In the clip, a construction company that operates under the Broad Group took less than a week, or 136 hours of work, to erect and complete the outside decoration of a 15-story prefabricated building in June in Changsha, capital of Central China's Hunan province.

The clip, which was taken from the parent company's website, became an online sensation, attracting more than 3 million viewers and 1,100 comments in three months.

In the process, it set off a debate on China's model of development and the productivity of Chinese workers.

Some YouTube users were taken aback by the team's efficiency, calling it an excellent example of China's management of construction projects.

Others questioned the quality and safety of the completed work, raising concern over products made in China.

"We did not anticipate becoming such a big hit online," said Zhu Lingfang, a public relations officer for the construction company, which stressed that quality and safety were not sacrificed in the rapid pace at which the project was completed.

In contrast to conventional construction projects using bricks and mortar, prefabricated buildings are erected by assembling component parts that have already been produced elsewhere.

Before construction began, five plants near the site were commissioned to produce the components for the building, such as pillars, floors, walls, balconies and stairs, Zhou Xiangjiang, the company's chief technology executive, told the Beijing-based Economic Observer.

And the project involved only 200 construction workers.

The technology of using prefabricated materials to erect buildings has given this type of construction the edge over conventional construction methods in terms of efficiency, the company said.

China Daily

(China Daily 11/30/2010 page4)