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Consider these two expressions
The city can't handle any more people(moving here).
The city has as many people as it can handle.
The first expression is pretty clear, it says that city is over the limit and can't handle any more people.
However does the second expression convey the same meaning? If not, what should be the construct for it to mean the same thing as the first expression.
The city has as many people as it can handle.
says it can handle the current population, and implies that it cannot handle any more people.
The city can't handle any more people(moving here).
says that it cannot handle any more people, and implies that it can handle the current population.
So only in an implied sense do they mean essentially the same thing. More context is needed to decide clearly.
