Housing project gives Tibetans new homes, jobs

More than 2.3 million farmers and herdsmen in the Tibet autonomous region have moved into new homes thanks to an eight-year housing project that was completed in 2013.

Lobsang Jamcan, chairman of the Tibet regional government, told the region's people's congress on Friday that the 27.35 billion yuan ($4.51 billion) project has benefited 2.3 million people in 460,000 households.

The number of permanent residents in Tibet is 3 million, according to a 2010 census.

"The living conditions of farmers and herdsman have gotten historical improvement. Their lifestyles have experienced dramatic change, and the area has taken on a brand-new look," Lobsang Jamcan said in the government work report.

According to project headquarters, the average living space for members of the group increased by 20 to 30 percent. Many of the low, dingy clay houses that had accommodated both people and livestock have been replaced by two-story concrete homes.

The finance department of the region said that in 2013, it invested 696.3 million yuan to improve living conditions in 1,000 villages and put 150 million yuan into building venues for public activities in 500 villages in border areas.

During the project, the government also spent 2 billion yuan to reinforce houses to withstand earthquakes.

In 2013, the group's average net income was 6,520 yuan, 14 percent more than in 2012, according to the report.

Dawachog, owner of a family inn in Lulang township, Nyingchi prefecture, said many tourists stay in his village, yet only rich people could run hotels in the past.

"Thanks to the housing project, less well-off people in our village can open their family inns as well."

Dawachog's family inn is one that received government subsidies. It is a traditional house decorated with the "Auspicious Eight Treasures" and uses animal dung to fuel a stove.

The project also provided job opportunities to locals who helped with the construction work. Basang, from Doilungdeqen county, Lhasa, told Xinhua News Agency, "My family got richer since I and my neighbors established a transport team to help move construction materials."

The project began in 2006, when the regional government helped locals revamp their houses, assisted nomads in building homes of their own, and helped people to leave regions unfavorable to sustaining a living.

The project has been done on a voluntary basis and fully respected locals' living habits.

Lobsang Jamcan's work report also noted that the local government spent 4.82 billion yuan in 2013 to protect the environment.

He said local authorities adopted new measures to monitor and protect ecology, promulgated new regulations to supervise exploration of mining resources and used a new system to evaluate environmental protection efforts.

The regional government became the only agency last year to be empowered to grant rights to explore mines. Mining proposals will be ruled out if they do not meet environmental requirements.

"We will stick to the bottom line of protecting the environment, making it our priority. We will achieve development from protection efforts," Lobsang Jamcan said.

Palden Nyima contributed to this story.