Big realty program to solve house woes

SINGAPORE - Chongqing plans to build some 30 million square meters of public housing for 1.5 million city dwellers over the next three years, in order to tackle an acute housing shortage and stabilize rising property prices, said Huang Qifan, the city's mayor.

"Commercial housing cannot meet market demand any more, it is necessary to mobilize government resources to increase housing supply," Huang told China Daily in Singapore.

Huang led a delegation to the World Cities Summit, a biannual event held in Singapore to discuss good governance and urban solutions for building a livable and sustainable city.