In a circular issued on March 25, the State Council agreed “in principle” on a general plan for the development of Ningbo from 2006 to 2020, which the Zhejiang Provincial Government recently revised and submitted.

Located on the south of the Yangtze River Delta, Ningbo is a port city in Zhejiang province, with a rich historical heritage.

The State Council asked Zhejiang province to:

1. Continue improving the city’s competitiveness and its ability to develop sustainable growth.

2. Improve the balance between urban and rural development.

3. Ensure Ningbo grows at a reasonable rate. By 2020, there should be a maximum of 3.95 million permanent residents in downtown Ningbo, and the area of land used to sustain urban development, such as land taken up by infrastructure and transportation, should not exceed 420 square kilometers.

4. Improve Ningbo’s infrastructure, including transportation, running water and sewage systems, garbage disposal and disaster-response. Zhejiang province should promote the integration of Ningbo and Zhoushan Port. It should also make sure the city has sufficient land for infrastructure.

5. Develop Ningbo into a more environmentally friendly city with a focus on energy conservation. The city should minimize pollutant discharge, improve efficiency in the treatment of sewage and garbage, and achieve all the goals concerning environmental protection set by the general plan.

6. Strengthen ecological environment protection and construction. Ningbo should enforce strict rules to protect the key ecological function areas in the city and ban the construction of new buildings on ecologically fragile land. It should establish a marine ecological protection system, minimize pollutant discharge in protected coastal areas, and keep the development of aquaculture industry at a reasonable level.

7. Enhance living conditions by providing public services, including health and education, according to the population estimate and projections of population distribution. It should also push forward affordable housing projects.

8. Ensure cultural preservation in the city, including unique landscape and places of historical interest.

9. Fully implement the general plan.