According to the Ministry of Construction's 2001 agenda, branch units, service agencies and construction companies are now required to proceed with their work in line with agreed WTO principles and the bilateral agreements signed with other countries.

According to the agenda, in the next three to five years, China's construction market will be open to foreign investors, who will be allowed to enter every sector apart from the general planning of cities to high-level real estate projects.

This will give a much needed impetus to the healthy development of the construction sector.

The challenges that will face China's construction businesses when the country enters the WTO mean that they have to develop their competence and bid against other companies for more projects on the world market.

According to the ministry, further housing reform and strengthened management are top priorities this year.

One essential aspect of housing reform will be the replacement of the old welfare housing distribution system with a commercialized housing distribution mechanism, according to Minister of Construction Yu Zhengsheng.

Every unit of work and organization in China used to allocate free housing to their employees as a kind of social welfare.

The central government now wants housing to be privatized, so that accommodation can be a product on the market just like any other commodity.

To ensure that every family can afford to buy commercial houses, the ministry will further emphasize the construction of affordable housing.

Affordable housing, mainly targeted at medium and low-income families, is aimed at stimulating domestic demand, Yu said.

He added that the housing sector will pay close attention to actual market demand to ensure that only enough houses are built.

In the area of urban construction and management, Yu said that projects that help protect the environment and improve transportation should be the main focus.

Yu said all cities should attach importance to water-saving programmes and projects that increase green areas. The Ministry of Construction is also putting a lot of stress on construction quality.

The ministry also wants to emphasize advanced technologies and information technologies.

This year, the ministry will base the development of some cities on information technologies and computer-controlled facilities.

(China Daily 03/06/2001)