New Land-Use Policy to be Launched by End of the Year

A person from the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) revealed to the EO on Aug 30 that a "differential land policy" (差別化供地政策) is currently being formulated by the farmland protection division of the central government department. The new policy is expected to be released by end of this year. The proposed changes will mean that land-use policies differ according to region and industry, as opposed to the current system in which a common bidding system is used to strictly regulate the amount of agricultural land that is permitted to be zoned as suitable for construction. The move is likely to benefit construction in western China, as the new policy will increaase the amount of land that is allowed to be developed each year. Currently the demand for land exceeds the limited supply, with estimates putting demand for newly-designated "construction land" at 16.2 million mu (a Chinese measure of land that is equal to about one fifteenth of a hectare), while over the past few year the MLR has only allowed a little over 6 million mu to be re-zoned each yar.

Source

Economic Observer Online

http://www.ok153.com/2011/0831/210087.shtml

Google translation

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