China demands for land saving

A pedestrian walks past the Ministry of land and Resources in Beijing, China, 10 February 2013. [Photo: dfic.cn]

The Chinese government has released new land-use guidelines in an attempt to try to limit land use for construction.

The guidelines are meant to gradually reduce the scale of land being used for construction until 2020.

Dong Zuoji is head of the Ministry of Land and Resources planning department.

"By 2020, the added value per unit of construction land for second and third industries should be doubled that of 2010. The size of fixed asset investment construction land per unit should drop by 80%, and the average floor area ratio of new urban areas will increase over 30%."

The new guidelines have been drafted specifically for China's major cities.

"These measures are already in effect in some large cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai. Shanghai has promised not to increase its planned construction land use in the next three decades. Beijing has also worked out a similar strategy in the capital's overall planning."

Observers are suggesting the new guidelines may help stimulate sagging home prices, as there will be less available land to build on.