Major restructuring of Beijing planned to ease strains on city centre

Beijing

BEIJING will undertake a major restructuring of the capital government as part of a broader plan to create a giant urban corridor in northern China, officials said on Saturday.

At the end of a Communist Party meeting, city officials said on the evening news that hospitals, wholesale markets and some of the city's administrative offices would move outside the city centre. Beijing is to limit its population to 23 million, slightly more than its current estimated population of 22 million, and reduce the population of its six core districts by 15 per cent. Many important services will move to suburbs or neighbouring Hebei province, officials added.