The Chinese government said Thursday it plans to increase the land supply available for residential property, in a bid to guide the country's runaway property market into more healthy development.

China will supply 180,000 hectares of land nationwide to build houses this year, excluding the Tibet Autonomous Region, compared with an area of 76,461 hectares in 2009, the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said.

Areas for low-cost housing, renovated shanty houses and small- and medium-sized apartments will be allocated more than 70 percent of the total land supply, the ministry said.

In breakdown, areas for small- and medium-sized apartments alone would reach 80,431 hectares this year, exceeding China's total land supply in 2009.

Some 35,786 hectares would be allocated for renovated shanty houses, accounting for 19 percent of this year's total land supply.

Areas for low-cost housing, consisting of affordable housing and low-rent housing, would be given 24,454 hectares, more than double the 2009 figure.

The central government vowed to build three million low-cost apartments for low-income families and renovate 2.8 million shanty houses at the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress in March this year.

"We merely need 12,000 hectares to meet the goal set by the central government to build the three million low-cost apartments, well below this year's planned land supply for this part," said Liao Yonglin, director of the department of land use management of the MLR.