City puts billions into helping poor

GUANGZHOU - This Guangdong provincial capital has earmarked more than 8.9 billion yuan ($1.37 billion) for the construction of affordable housing for low-income residents and migrant workers this year.

"The large sum of money will be spent to build 20 affordable housing projects that will contain 43,000 apartments," said Zhang Qiang, deputy director of the city's affordable housing office.

The affordable housing projects are moving forward in the city's eight districts, some of them even in downtown areas, Zhang said when answering questions posed by deputies of the Guangzhou People's Congress on Monday.