BEIJING - Premier Li Keqiang has called for more efforts to expedite the renovation of rundown urban areas and dilapidated houses in 2017, a State Council statement said Monday.

This year, 6 million homes will be rebuilt, the same as the target set for 2016, according to Li, who stressed that the work should be initiated as soon as possible.

Renovation of rundown areas will provide low-income urban residents with affordable housing. The country spent 1.48 trillion yuan (around 210 billion US dollars) on rebuilding 6.06 million dilapidated homes last year.

The premier promised more financial support, and said the government would strive to improve quality and safety and ensure construction of supporting facilities.