China to build more affordable houses next year

BEIJING - China will start the construction of around 6 million affordable housing units next year, Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin said Monday.

"It is also a big task to build affiliated infrastructure, including subways, schools, clinics and nurseries," Jiang said at a press conference on the sidelines of the 18th National Congress of Communist Party of China.

China is engaged in building more than 7 million government-subsidized units this year as part of its five-year plan to construct 36 million such affordable homes by 2015 in a bid to make housing accessible to low-income families.

"We haven't encountered major financial problems concerning the project," he said, adding that the government would keep a vigilant eye on the issue.

The minister also said the government will see to it that affordable housing is fairly distributed.