Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said that his municipal government will continue to regulate the real estate industry in an effort to rein in the runaway prices that have begun to go up since the city won the bid for the 2010 World Exposition.
The regulation will be realized by controlling the land supply instead of administrative degrees, he told Xinhua during an interview on the sidelines of the on-gong session of the national legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC).
As an international metropolis with a population of 16 million, Shanghai should forge a real estate market structure that can meetthe needs of all sectors, especially those of ordinary people, the mayor said.
"The municipal government encourages the building of housing that sells for 3,000-5,000 yuan (360-600 US dollars) per square meter to make them affordable to ordinary people," said the 49-year-old mayor elected to govern this financial center of the country on Feb. 20.
The total area of commercial housing completed in the city last year reached 18 million square meters and more than 18 million square meters were sold, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2003)
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