The plan of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development project has undergone several amendments to the original draft and stressed that Beijing will be the only core hub of the region, media reported.

According to Economy and Nation Weekly, a magazine under the Xinhua News Agency, the development plan, which is expected to be released by the end of March, will map out detailed industrial strategies of different areas in the region.

The draft plan originally proposed that Beijing and Tianjin would each have four core functions while Hebei would have five.

"The plan stressed that Beijing would be the only hub because too many hubs means no true center," an official who participated in the drafting of the plan told the magazine, adding that Tianjin and Hebei will carry various industrial bases and zones.

Beijing's core functions as the center of the nation's politics, culture, international communications and technological innovation remain unchanged.

"The new positioning will help make the plan and the functions of the regions clearer and better," Zhang Gui, a professor of regional development at the Hebei University of Technology, told the Global Times Monday.

"A hub may appear more superior to a base, but the amendments do not intend to lower a region's status, because the idea of the program is about balancing the differences of the three regions and promoting development through shared resources," Zhang said.

The magazine's report said the development plan includes a general layout, a detailed implementation plan and a project list.

The plan is highly detailed, including specific plans to relocate certain enterprises or build new transport infrastructure. It also has clear annual timetables and liability rules to push forward the implementation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the integration of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region at a seminar on regional development in Beijing in February 2014. The plan aims to relieve pressure on the capital and to boost development in the surrounding regions.

However, the release of the development plan has been delayed due to difficulties in positioning the three places and balancing regional interests.