China crackdowns on 'vanity projects'; to ban building of super skyscrapers

In a crackdown against the ‘wasteful’ vanity projects countrywide, China has passed a new proposal that bans the construction of ‘super high skyscrapers’ or extremely tall buildings unless special approval is sought from the Xi Jinping government.

Cities in Beijing with populations less than 3 million were prohibited to construct skyscrapers taller than 150 metres (492.13 ft), and those cities with a population more than that were banned from constructing skyscrapers taller than 250 metres, China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said, according to The Guardian newspaper. Chinese regulators are limiting the high buildings in order to felicitate the energy consumption, and save resources. 

CPC cites energy consumption, safety protocol adherence issue in high rises

In a similar measure in July this year, China’s national development and reform commission, Beijing’s top planning agency banned the construction of a building that might reach a height of more than 500 metres, as reported by The Guardian newspaper. The agency warned that the high-rises taller than 500 metres will no longer attain the government’s approval for construction. It further advised the builders to follow a proper government-approved construction plan before laying the foundation of the new constructions. 

The CPC, although, agreed to give the exemptions to the high rise buildings with excellent firefighting and anti-earthquake capabilities, with due consideration about the population of the cities where such structures will be located. A joint statement was circulated by China’s ministry of housing and urban-rural development, ministry of emergency management, a cabinet-level executive department that overlooks the emergency management and safety protocols of the infrastructure, announcing the new measure. 

China, which houses the world’s second-tallest building, a 128-storey, 632-metre-tall Shanghai Tower, has expressed reluctance about the super tall buildings in recent years owing to the energy consumption and safety issues surrounding such constructions. This comes after a massive fire reportedly broke out in a 26-floor skyscraper in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, the capital of north China's Hebei Province that charred insulation material on the outside of the building. The accident caused multiple explosions in the building, bringing the government’s focus back on adequate safety protocol adherence during the construction of tall buildings. Videos circulated on China's Weibo appeared to show the struggles of the firefighters in towering jets of water to douse the fire on the upper floors of the tall building.