This rising economic powerhouse in east China will spend a record 100 billion yuan on infrastructure and other urban construction projects this year.
The sum is 20 percent more than that spent in 2001, municipal officials in charge of urban construction said.
The investments will be focusing on infrastructure, the development of the Huangpu River waterfront, urban management, housing and transportation, the officials said.
Major projects that will be launched this year include a second railway station for Shanghai, an international passenger terminal at the Shanghai port, a second runway for the Pudong international airport, seven expressway projects and five rail transportation projects.
Meanwhile, Shanghai plans to demolish up to 2.5 million square meters of old houses, and replace them with brand-new ones. The investment in the housing sector will top 60 billion yuan this year.
The authorities also plan to add 12 million square meters of green areas, to make a total of 15,000 hectares of greenbelts.
(People’s Daily January 26, 2002)
