Step aside, pesky mountain range

China has plans to flatten 700 mountains to make room for a new metropolis 50 miles away from the central-Chinese city of Lanzhou.

The Lanzhou New Area currently encompasses 500 square miles of arid, mountainous terrain, but not for long—China’s state council, its highest administrative authority, approved the project in August, according to the UK’s Guardian newspaper.

While the development could improve the region’s economy considerably (and has already attracted billions in corporate investment), it has also been heavily criticized on environmental and economic grounds. As one of China’s most water-scarce jurisdictions, Lanzhou might not be an ideal location for a large population increase.

Angie Wong, a spokeswoman for China Pacific Construction Group, dismissed the criticism, saying, “Lanzhou’s environment is already really poor; it’s all desolate mountains which are extremely short of water. Our protective style of development will divert water to the area, achieve reforestation and make things better than before.”