Li Keqiang, secretary of the Liaoning provincial committee of the Communist Party of China

Families will be entitled to move into new residences measuring the same area as the rooms they moved out of for free. The extra area of a bigger flat will cost about 600 yuan ($77) per square meter, or far less than the average price of housing in Liaoning's small cities, which is about 2,000 yuan ($258) per square meter.

Li Keqiang, secretary of the Liaoning provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, said yesterday in Beijing that the project would start soon, targeting shantytowns measuring between 10,000 and 50,000 square meters.

"The general welfare of the public, especially the poor, is at the top of our agenda," he said during the annual session of the National People's Congress.

Local media reported that Li decided to rebuild Liaoning's shantytowns after visiting one in Fushun roughly two weeks after becoming provincial Party secretary. Shocked by the miserable living conditions he saw no tap water, no central heating system and no paved roads Li promised to make some changes.

"We have resolved to settle your problems. It won't be too long," he told a resident in a video released by the provincial government.

The first round of renovations started in March 2005, focusing on shantytowns measuring more than 50,000 square meters. It was completed at the end of last year.

Wang Lisheng, a 78-year-old retiree who had moved from a 30 square-meter shanty to a 55 square-meter apartment in Fuxin, Liaoning, told local media that he had never expected to live in such improved conditions, especially for free.

"I'm just so happy," the old man said, according to reports.

Official figures show that more than 12 million square meters of shantytowns have been demolished, and 19 million square meters of new apartments been constructed, benefiting 1.2 million people, or 345,000 families.

In addition to the housing project, the government has also been working to address the high unemployment rate and low incomes of rural residents.

Li said yesterday that if all the members of a family were jobless, the government would offer them employment within 20 days.

Li also said more rural residents would be covered by the social security system this year, and that the government would allocate more money to raise the lowest subsidy from 33 yuan ($4.26) per month to more than 40 yuan ($5.16) per month.

Following up on Premier Wen Jiabao's announcement yesterday that China would offer free education to students in normal colleges attached to the Ministry of Education, Li said Liaoning would pursue corresponding policies to offer free schooling to students at normal universities under the provincial education authorities.