(ECNS) -- The eastern coastal city of Shenzhen is planning to create land from the sea amid a slew of measures to curb property speculation, as the city's new home prices rose a staggering 47.5 percent last year.
Ma Xingrui, Party chief of Shenzhen city in south China's Guangdong province, said the government will not stand by while home prices continue to skyrocket in one of the most developed cities in China.
Shenzhen will provide more soil for development by reorganizing 50 square kilometers of land and reclaiming another 55 square meters from the ocean.
Ma, also deputy Party chief of Guangdong Province, said both the central and Guangdong provincial governments support the plan to make Shenzhen bigger.
The city neighboring Hong Kong has been creating new land from the ocean for many years to build a number of roads and ports.
Shenzhen's surge in new home prices was the sharpest rise in any Chinese city last year, according to the local government.
Business insiders say land reclamation is expected to fundamentally affect the city's layout and property market.
