Shanghai will subsidize green property development projects to minimize pollution and boost energy efficiency across the city, the local urban construction commission announced at a press conference Wednesday.

Property developers can apply for the green subsidy from September 15, said Qin Yun, deputy director of the Shanghai Urban Construction and Communications Commission, which oversees construction and transportation projects in the city.

"Shanghai aims to build 1 billion square meters of green buildings by 2015 to meet its goal in the 12th Five-Year Plan," Qin said at the press conference. "The subsidy is an unprecedented measure to encourage developers to adopt green measures and design."

The local government will provide subsidies of up to 6 million yuan ($944,286) for each construction project and 10 million yuan for each affordable housing project. To meet the requirements, developers must install energy efficient devices, including solar panels and shading facilities to reduce energy consumption.

The subsidy for encouraging green design in Shanghai is one of the highest in the country, said Mao Weixiong, a chief architect with Shanghai Research Institute of Building Sciences Co Ltd.

"An energy efficient design can increase a developer's costs by 30 percent for a residential building," he told the Global Times. "The subsidy will definitely encourage developers to adopt energy efficient measures without passing the cost on to homebuyers."

The commission also announced at the press conference that it plans to survey 1,000 of the city's public buildings by the end of this year to evaluate their energy efficiency. "Public buildings, such as libraries, museums and hospitals, consume five times as much energy as normal residential buildings," Qin said. "So it is important to renovate them to make them more energy efficient."

The city government has also vowed to work with the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission to develop new energy saving measures.