Circular of the State Council on Promoting the Economical and Intensive Use of Land

Circular of the State Council on Promoting the Economical and Intensive Use of Land

Guo Fa [2008]No.3

January 3, 2008

To the people's governments of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, all the ministries and commissions under the State Council, and all institutions directly affiliated with the State Council:

In view of China's large population relatively small area, its rare cultivated land resources and the current fast development stage of industrialization and urbanization, the conflict between the demand and supply of land for construction becomes extremely prominent. It is a crucial strategy determining the survival of the Chinese people and the long-term interests of China, specific requirement for the full implementation of scientific outlook on development, and a basic policy that China must stick to for a long time, to effectively protect cultivated land, vigorously promote economical and intensive use of land, and blaze a new trail to economical and intensive use of land, featuring in occupying less land, high efficiency and according with the realities of China. The relevant issues are hereby set out as follows:

I. Examine and make adjustments to various related planning and land use standards on the basis of the principle of economical and intensive use of land.
1. Strengthen the general control function of the overall land use planning. All types of planning related to land use should be linked up with the overall land use planning, the size of land for construction determined must be consistent with the arrangements of the overall land use planning, and annual land use arrangements must be made within an annual land use plan. Where any land use-related planning does not accord with the overall land use planning and the annual land use plan, any such planning must be adjusted or modified in a timely manner and the land use side must be examined and reduced accordingly.
2. Effectively strengthen scientific planning for major infrastructures and fundamental sectors. Construction planning for infrastructures such as transport, resources, and irrigation works and fundamental sectors should be planed and coordinated as a whole on the basis of the principles of reasonable arrangement, economy and practicability, and controlled time order so as to avoid the waste of land resources arising from uninformed investments, exceedingly advanced projects and low-technology level repetitive construction.
3. Strictly control the size of urban land. Urban planning should, on the basis of the principles of gradual and orderly progress, land saving, intensive development and reasonable arrangement, determine in a scientific manner the position of the city in question, and its functional objective and development scale and enhance the comprehensive accommodating capability of the city. Technical standards for urban planning should, in accordance with economical and intensive land use requirements, be formulated and revised in an expedited manner. Newly revised control standards for urban planning such as area of land per capita and land use structure should be issued as soon as possible, the building density, floor area ratios and green space ratios for all kinds of construction should be determined in a reasonable manner, and all urban infrastructural facilities and green ecological construction should be carried out strictly in accordance with national standards of China. The planning and construction of wide streets, large squares and green belts without taking into account the actual need should be prohibited.
4. Strictly enforce land use standards. All types of systems for land use standards should be developed and standards for land for construction for public facilities and public utilities should be prepared in a timely manner. Under the precondition that functionality and security requirements are met, standards for land for construction used in all types of current construction projects should be reexamined and modified on the basis of the principle of economical and intensive use of land. Any construction standards or design standards that are inconsistent with land use standards should be revised in a timely manner. Measures such as adopting advanced land-saving techniques, reducing the height of roadbed and increasing bridge and tunnel ratios should be taken to lower land-use standards for highway, railway, other infrastructure facilities or land-use standards for soil-taking or dumping lots used in such projects. Land-use standards should be implemented strictly in the design and construction of construction projects and examination and approval of the construction land involved. Land use area should be checked and reduced when the land is used in excess of standards.
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