Measures to curb land inventory

In a move to curb land inventories, the Ministry of Land and Resources is urging developers in Beijing, Shanghai and several other cites, to start construction on auctioned land. 7 of the 18 plots of land named by the Ministry, have been idle for more than two years. The rest have remained undeveloped for more than a year.

The Ministry is ordering provincial land management departments to report progress on idle land before February 2010. For land that is unused for two years or less, the government will levy taxes of up 20 percent of the land's price. Areas that remain vacant for more than two years will be returned to the government's land pool.