The Chinese government has announced a plan to address the country's shortage of parking spaces, as there are about 50 million fewer parking spaces than cars, according to the China News Service.
Lian Weiliang, vice chair of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that owning a parking space should be a requirement to car ownership, and local governments should be permitted to implement programs that would encourage car owners to own private parking spaces.
Beijing and Guangzhou have proposed regulations that would require car buyers to own a parking space before making a purchase, but Lian's announcement was the first official statement about the proposal, according to the China News Service report.
There has been an increasing number of motor vehicles in China, with an annual growth rate of 15 percent since 2005.
At the end of 2014, the number of cars had reached 154 million, with 105 million of them being passenger cars.
Currently, there is only around 0.8 parking space per car in China's major cities, while minor cities only have 0.5 space per car in smaller cities. This amounts to about a 50 million parking space shortage in the country.
Better management is needed to address the parking space issue, as well as a plan for the development of public transportation, Lian said.
Lian also revealed that the central government is planning to assist local authorities with the problem of illegal parking, which will lead to a higher demand for parking spaces.
He also said that this will help attract the private sector to invest in the construction of parking facilities, effectively increasing the number of parking spaces.
Lu Kehua, vice minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said that in large cities with population exceeding 500,000, there should be between 1.1 and 1.3 parking space per car, while in smaller cities, it should be 1.1 and 1.5.
