BEIJING - China will strictly supervise the construction of affordable housing projects to ensure quality, a government official said Tuesday.

Zhang Xueqin, deputy director of the housing security department under the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said the ministry will supervise the entire construction process, including geological surveying, designing, construction and inspection upon completion, for all affordable housing projects.

The legal entities responsible for the housing projects will be required to take lifelong liability for the quality of their projects, Zhang said.

He also said that the ministry will further improve support policies concerning quality management.

China has vowed to build 36 million affordable housing units during the 2011-2015 period to meet the demands of low-income families. In 2011, it started construction on 10 million units.

Construction on at least 7 million units will begin this year, bringing the total number of units under construction to 17 million, according to the ministry.