Tianjin must cap its population growth, says
the city's urban planning scheme, which has been approved by the
State Council.
The North China port should also bring the use of land for
development under control, says the document.
By 2020, Tianjin's population should be capped under 13.5
million, while the amount of land used for non-agricultural
purposes should not exceed 1,450 square kilometers, according to
the scheme, published yesterday on www.gov.cn, the government's
official website.
The scheme's ultimate goal is to turn Tianjin into an
environmentally sound and technologically advanced international
port, and an economic hub for north China.
"In light of the city's constraints in resources and
environment, Tianjin must restrain from blind expansion," the State
Council said in a reply to the city's proposal for urban planning
until 2020.
Instead the city must economize in water, energy and land use,
and must take all possible means to protect arable land and curb
erosion and desertification, the cabinet said.
Tianjin stretches 11,900 square kilometers, and its population
grew by 0.143 percent last year to reach 10.43 million. The city
has now entered a low growth period in terms of population,
according to the Tianjin Bureau of Statistics.
The document singles out the Binhai New Area (BNA), or the new
coastal area, which was officially designated by the State Council
as an experimental zone for comprehensive reform two months
ago.
It says the BNA, covering an area of 2,270 square kilometers and
containing a population of 1.4 million, should be developed into a
gateway to north China, a modern manufacturing and research base
and international shipping and logistics center, as well as a
pleasant place to live.
(China Daily August 9, 2006)