The first three plots for budget home construction this year received offers from more than 20 bidders, the Shanghai Housing Development Center said.

Located in Nanhui and Jiading districts, the plots have a total area of 1.6 million square meters.

In the first two months of this year, about 8,000 budget homes, apartments sold for below 3,500 yuan (US$422) per square meter, were offered to families relocated by urban reconstruction, according to the housing development center.

Last year, 14,000 apartments were put on the market reserved for people moving for construction of transportation lines and green space.

"The government is trying to attain the goal of every family owning their own property in four years," Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng said on Monday. About 75 percent of local families own their apartments.

(Eastday.com March 31, 2004)