China’s Shanghai to limit population to 25m

China’s financial hub of Shanghai will limit its population to 25 million people by 2035 as part of a quest to manage “big city diseases,’’ the cabinet has said.

The State Council said on its website on Tuesday that the goal to control the size of the city was part of Shanghai’s master plan for 2017-2035 which the government body had approved.

“By 2035, the resident population in Shanghai will be controlled at around 25 million and the total amount of land made available for construction will not exceed 3,200 square kilometres,” it said.

State media had defined “big city diseases as arising when a megacity becomes plagued with environmental pollution, traffic congestion and a shortage of public services, including education and medical care.’’

Many of China’s biggest cities also face surging house prices, stirring fears of a property bubble.

Shanghai, which sits on China’s eastern coast, had a permanent population of 24.15 million at the end of 2015, the official news media agency said last year.

The city had also said it would intensify efforts to protect the environment and historic sites as part of its master plan.