WELLINGTON, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- As New Zealand South Island's largest city Christchurch will mark the eighth anniversary of the devastating 2011 earthquake on Friday, the City Council is given back control over the district planning, Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration Megan Woods said on Tuesday.

This was hailed as a major milestone in Canterbury recovery, Woods said in a statement, adding it is a powerful signal that Christchurch is moving out of its rebuild phase and looking to its future as New Zealand's thriving second largest city.

People in Christchurch are now able to initiate changes to the district plan, submit opinions on proposed changes, attend hearings and participate in proposing amendments, Woods said.

"Following the earthquakes, special emergency planning processes were implemented that suspended certain Resource Management Act processes in the interest of speed and certainty during the rebuild," the minister said.

The Christchurch City Council can now revert to normal planning processes to manage its district plan, marking a significant step in the transition back to local leadership, she said, adding this milestone was met over two years ahead of schedule, which shows a great sign of momentum in Christchurch's regeneration.