China plans multibillion yuan budget for low-rent housing program
5/3/2008 16:38
China plans to allocate 6.8-billion-yuan (US$951million) in its 2008
budget to build low-rent houses for urban poor, Premier Wen Jiabao said in
Beijing today.
The amount is 1.7 billion yuan (US$238 million), or 33
percent, more than last year, Wen said in his report to the First Session of the
11th National People's Congress that opened at the Great Hall of the People in
central Beijing.
Local governments are required to increase funding in this
area, he said.
The government will also build more affordable houses and
tighten the management on them to ease housing difficulties of low-income urban
residents, the Premier said.
A set of tax, credit and land supply measures
will come out to increase supply of reasonably priced housing, curb demand for
high-end housing and prevent overheating in housing prices, he said.
Provided
that China has a large population and relatively little land available, Wen said
the country has to turn to small and medium-sized condominiums that are
environmentally friendly to conserve energy and land.
More land will be
provided for such projects, he said.
"We must ensure that the government and
the market both play their due roles," the Premier said.
The government will
give priority to housing for low- and middle-income families while housing
demand among high-income families will be met largely through the market, he
said.
Attempts to hoard and speculate land and houses will be watched by the
authority, he said, "We will deal with violations in accordance with the
law."
Xinhua
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