Guiyang urban plan gets approval

The State Council has approved the overall urban plan (2011-20) for Guiyang, capital of Southwest China’s Guizhou province.

Guiyang is a crucial innovation center and a major tourist spot in the southwest. The plan sets aside a designated area of 3,121 square kilometers for urban and rural development in the provincial capital, emphasizing on developing counties and major towns with greater potential and optimizing the overall layout of villages and towns.

According to the plan, revised this year, the population of permanent residents in downtown Guiyang should be capped at 4 million by 2020, and the city’s urban construction land limited to 380 square kilometers.

Additional land for construction should be strictly controlled. By contrast, underground space will be further utilized. Efforts should also be made to improve the efficiency in land use and protect basic farmlands.

Meanwhile, the State Council urged local governments to establish a system that can serve multiple urban transportation means.

Infrastructure including urban water supply, drainage and sewage disposal should be built. Facilities for disaster prevention should also be reinforced, the plan said. The plan aims to transform Guiyang into an energy-saving and environmentally-friendly city through cutting outdated production capacity and emissions while promoting a safe waste and sewage disposal system.