For instance, statistics[82] suggest that new construction added approximately 137,000 m2 (1,470,000 sq ft) daily of usable floor space to satisfy demands for residential, commercial and factory space. In addition, more than 1,300 people moved into the city daily, adding almost 100 million yuan (US$15 million) to the local economy. Thus, Chongqing was separated from Sichuan province and made into a municipality in its own right on 14 March 1997[83] in order to accelerate its development and subsequently China's relatively poorer western areas (see China Western Development strategy).[84] An important industrial area in western China,[85]