The supply of construction land decreased 25.3 percent year-on-year nationwide in the first half of this year, according to a conference the Ministry of Land and Resources held yesterday.

Construction land supply structure was further optimized, as industrial and mining land declined, residential land increased, especially for public housing. Residential land price was 2,020 yuan ($295.58) per square meter in urban areas at the end of June.

Newly-added construction land which were used in the first half reached 1.35 million mu (90,000 hectares), accounting for 23.4 percent of the whole year's plan. The State Council and provincial governments approved construction land as much as 1.5 million mu in the first half.

In the first half, 742,000-mu land use rights were transferred via public tender, accounting for 81.9 percent of the total, up 45.9 percentage points from the last year, said officials at the Ministry of Land and Resources.

The ministry has extended its land price inspection to 105 cities. Cases of violation to the rules and regulations about land use and involved land area dropped 10.17 and 48.17 percent, respectively.

To intensify land use efficiency, the ministry revised guidelines for land use control of industrial projects and investigated 25,000 cases involving as much as 1-million-mu idle land.

(Chinadaily.com.cn July 29, 2008)