Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday reiterated determination to curb excessive growth of home prices in major cities and satisfy people's basic need for housing as the annual session of China's top legislature opens.

He made the pledge while delivering a government work report to the Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress(NPC).

Wen promised to increase supply of low-cost housing and common residential houses, as well as restrain speculative purchase and tightening land use management.

A total of 63.2 billion yuan (US$9.25 billion) will be spent by the central government on low-income housing in 2010, an increase of 8.1 billion yuan, or 14.7 percent over last year, Wen said.

The government will also build three million affordable houses and renovate 2.8 million shanty houses, he said.

Driven by record bank lending and favorable tax breaks, China saw a sharp residential property price hike nationwide in the past year, triggering heated public complaints and fears of possible assets bubble.

China's home prices in 70 large- and medium-sized cities, a housing price trend barometer, climbed 9.5 percent in January 2010 from a year earlier, the fastest growth in 19 months.

(Xinhua News Agency March 5, 2010)