Shanghai looks to five suburbs to reduce population density in China's commercial hub

https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3129329/shanghai-looks-five-suburbs-reduce-population-density?utm_medium=partner&utm_campaign=contentexchange&utm_source=EdgeProp&utm_content=3129329 |

April 15, 2021 3:20 PM SGT

Shanghai's authorities have unveiled a grand plan to develop new townships out of five suburban districts to relieve the population density in the sprawling megapolis of almost 25 million people.

Five new towns will be developed in the Qingpu, Fengxian, Jiading, Nanhui and Songjiang districts, where Shanghai mayor Gong Zheng had promised to build major industrial projects with high-quality public infrastructure and comprehensive transport hubs.

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"Nanhui will attract a bigger volume of eyeballs," Yin said. Shanghai's municipal government will "direct a huge population to Lingang in the coming years to build it into a real boomtown," he said.

Tesla's Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg alt=Tesla's Gigafactory 3 in Shanghai on Friday, Dec. 25, 2020. Photo: Bloomberg>

The development of the five new towns, dubbed as Shanghai's satellite cities, was approved by the local legislature in late January. Avidly expecting detailed operating guides by the city government to make their own plans, developers, homebuyers, manufacturing businesses, retailers and other service providers have started studying the feasibility of investing in the new towns

By 2035, each new town will have a population of more than 1 million people. A combined population of 5 million in the satellite cities will account for about one sixth of the city's total at that time. They cover a total area of 820 sq km, 13 per cent of the city's total 6,340 sq km.

Aerial photos show new area of Shanghai FTZ on 6 August 201. Photo by Imaginechina alt=Aerial photos show new area of Shanghai FTZ on 6 August 201. Photo by Imaginechina>

"They are positioned as 'nodes' to connect the downtown with neighbouring areas at the Yangtze River Delta," said Chen Kai, a director with CBRE in Shanghai. "A new round of urban development with a bigger vision is taking shape in Shanghai."

The announcement of building five new towns came after a hefty hike in Shanghai's home prices last year that caused severe distress among property buyers like Cao.

Official data showed second-hand home prices in Shanghai rose 6.3 per cent in 2020, but many property agents said that the increase was at least 15 per cent, led by a buying euphoria that that started in October after nearly three years of stable growth in prices.

The upsurge translated into an extra 1 million yuan (US$152,700) cost to own a two-bedroom home in the city's downtown.

The suburbanisation campaign by the city government offers young homebuyers an alternative as they balk at the lofty housing prices in downtown areas.

The five towns are designed to draw investment from different sectors. Jiading in the city's north, that has been leading Shanghai's automobile industry development for more than two decades, will focus on new-energy and self-driving vehicles.

Qingpu in the city's southwest will place more emphasis on environment-friendly industries. Songjiang, near Qingpu in the south, aims to attract investments into emerging industries such as electronic information, integrated circuits and artificial intelligence.

Fengxian, bordering Pudong district on the east of Shanghai across the Huangpu River, is prioritising beauty and health care industries, and plans to attract major cosmetics companies to its Oriental Beauty Valley industrial estate.

"Millions of flats affordable to people like me will hit the market," said Cao Duowei, a 32-year-old white-collar clerk with a state-owned construction company. "Under the city government's directions, the new towns will turn out to be modern and prosperous. I want to move there to live and work."

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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