SHIJIAZHUANG, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Over 70 percent of a total of 521 families have signed agreements with the government to transfer their land for the building of a new city in the Xiongan New Area.

The Rongcheng County government issued a statement last week to announce the start of the relocation program in Xiongan, about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing.

The 521 families, who are among the first batch to be resettled, need to vacate from 157 hectares of land in the Hexi and Gongzhuang villages in Rongcheng. The land is expected to become a residential compound of the new city in the future.

Xiao Jinzhu, a 65-year-old resident of Hexi village, received over 730,000 yuan (107,000 U.S. dollars) for his family of five in compensation, which includes a monetary settlement for his houses, crops and homestead.

Like Xiao, most of the residents have opted to come back and live in the new apartments when they are built. They also receive subsidies to rent houses and pay for heating during the transition period.

The Xiongan management committee has rolled out detailed policies to meet the diverse demands of the residents and safeguard their long-term interest.

Companies and small business owners are entitled to subsidies for relocation and suspension of operations, it said.

"We uphold the principles of fairness and transparency in the process to ensure harmony in the relocation," said Song Haibin, director of the committee of the Hexi Village.