The State Council on May 3 issued a circular approving the overall plan for Hefei city (2011-2020) submitted by the Anhui provincial government.

As the capital city of Anhui, Hefei is part of the city cluster of Yangtze River Delta area, an important base for scientific research and modern manufacturing industry, and also a transportation hub.

With a coordinated urban and rural planning management, the plan asks local authorities to focus on developing counties and towns with good basic conditions and huge growth potential.

Efforts should be made to strengthen the coordinated development of Hefei with other cities nearby, allowing it to play a bigger role in the city cluster of Yangtze River Delta area in Anhui, said the plan.

In terms of city scale, the plan will work to keep its permanent resident population to within 3.6 million and land use for urban construction to within 360 square kilometers by 2020 and regulates that no other new areas or development zones should be built.

According to the plan, efforts should be made to improve the transport system of highways, railways, and airports. An overall plan should be laid out for the infrastructure facilities of city water supply, water drainage and garbage disposal. Great attention should be paid to the city’s disaster prevention and reduction work.

In addition, the plan is aimed at building Hefei into a city that is resource-conserving and environment-friendly.

The plan stresses a people-oriented development concept for the city, and requires accelerating construction of affordable housing, renovation of shantytowns and dilapidated houses and supporting infrastructure.

The State Council also stressed the importance of protecting local historical relics and buildings, as well as the natural landscape of the lakeshore.