China has launched massive housing construction projects this year and made remarkable progress in improving housing conditions for urban residents, a senior official said in Beijing on December 28.

Addressing the National Construction Conference, Minister of Construction Yu Zhengsheng said that the vigorous new housing reform policy, which is designed to stop housing allocation as a means of welfare, has stimulated housing construction nationwide.

Per capita living space for city dwellers has gone up from 9.3 sq m in 1998 to the current 9.6 sq m, Yu said.

During the January-November period this year, China built housing with a total 569 million sq m in floor space, up 15.7 percent over the same period last year. The country also witnessed sharp rises in housing space completed or sold, Yu said.

China has maintained rational growth in housing construction and investment this year, with affordable housing as main target for housing investment.

Moreover, individual buyers account for more than 80 percent of those who bought housing.