China to Resettle 6,600 Farmers in ChongqingChina plans to resettle 6,693 farmers in 1,661 families who are living in the southwest city of Chongqing this year to make way for the construction of the massive Three Gorges Project.By September, they are expected to move to 11 municipalities and provinces in central and eastern China, including Shanghai, Anhui, Guangdong, either into newly built houses or existing apartments. The resettlement of the first group of these farmers is going smoothly. Chongqing is at the end of the 600-kilometer-long Three Gorges reservoir, which is to store water and generate hydroelectricity by the year 2003. The 11 municipalities and provinces have paid great attention to the resettlement of the farmers, providing them with fertile farmland, places which have good economic and transportation conditions, favorable taxation polices, and subsidies for housing construction. Some 70,000 people from Chongqing are expected to be resettled in the next three years. |
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