The Sydney Opera House-style building in a park of Fuxin county. [Photo/chinanews.com]

The iconic roof of a Sydney Opera House replica in Northeast China's Liaoning province has been dismantled, with local authorities blaming severe leaks, chinanews.com reported.

The Sydney Opera House-style building in a park of Fuxin county, actually a lavish waterside restaurant, was exposed by media four years ago, with the local government receiving criticizm for splashing out 1.1 million yuan ($179,072) on its construction.

Reporters found that the iconic roof structures had already disappeared by Tuesday afternoon, while workers were busy loading dismantled material onto trucks.

A restaurant staff member said demolition started two days ago, with rumors that the county government ordered the move. "Maybe the style is not satisfying," the staff member commented.

Another senior staff member said the lavish restaurant was shut down in early 2013 amid the Party's campaign against extravagance. A new contractor had decorated the place in May this year, he added, saying that local authorities had ordered the roof structure to be changed.

A spokesman for the county's housing construction bureau said the demolition had occurred due to structural leakage.