(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-07-31 15:38

South China's Guangzhou City decided to reclaim 80 sites to stop land waste and increase housing supply, Nanfang City News reported today.

The 80 plots cover a combined area of 1.39 square kilometers and are among 96 sites that the government discovered during a citywide survey in the first half of this year, the report said.

The government urged developers to start construction at the other 16 plots within a year, the report said. It added that construction delays at these sites were not caused by the developers.

The Statistics Bureau of Guangdong said last week that housing prices in Guangzhou increased 25.8 percent in the first half of this year to an average of 7,743 yuan (US$1,024) per square meter.

Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province, has retrieved 24.46 square kilometers of unused land since 2003. According to the report, many developers had left acquired land vacant at the same time the city faces a potential shortage of homes.

Su Zequn, a vice mayor of Guangzhou, said the move can help regulate the real estate market and speed up construction to ease the supply strain.

Su said local authorities will use satellites to ensure land is used.