The government said in a statement that a 100-metre (110-yard) coastal buffer zone was reduced by more than half in most places after requests from residents to rebuild tsunami-hit homes within the area.

"The government has decided to revise the 100-metre buffer zone implemented for the coastal belt of tsunami-affected areas following the December 2004 tsunami devastation with immediate effect," the statement said.

Aid donors had complained that the restriction held up the reconstruction of thousands of homes and businesses along the coast where a million people were displaced after the December 26 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean.

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