Beijing will build 20 million square meters of low-cost housing in the next three years in a bid to meet demand.

The city will also begin construction work on 300,000 square meters of affordable rental housing, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

This means Beijing will have about 80,000 inexpensive new apartments each year entering the market in the next three years.

The Ministry of Construction requires 70 percent of new condominium development projects to have a floor space of no more than 90 square meters.

The figure will account for 30 percent of the city's annual housing supply, the Beijing-based China Business Times said.

A special office to oversee the exploration and management work on these houses has been set up, the Beijing News reported yesterday.

Beijing's move is in line with a recent State policy shift that encourages property developers across the nation to build more houses for low-income earners.

At a central government meeting late last month, which heard a report on Beijing's regulation of the real estate market, Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said Beijing needs to stabilize housing prices and regulate the market so as to promote its healthy development.

Zeng said: "There should be a multi-tiered housing supply mechanism, and it is imperative to make it easier for low-income families to buy homes."

(China Daily March 9, 2007)