New traffic routes and urban housing will take shape as civic leaders sit down to finalize the detail of the ambitious regeneration plan.

Qiu Shuiping, director of the Beijing CBD Management Committee, said a new operation and management system would be established in accordance with World Trade Organization rules to make the investment environment more scientific, efficient and transparent.

The CBD - located in the eastern part of the capital - is expected to take shape in its initial phase of construction by 2008.

A five-year development plan for the much-vaunted scheme will be finished this year, Qiu said.

There are currently 2,075 companies in the CBD, including 615 foreign enterprises. Overseas investment totaling 18.4 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) has been ploughed into housing projects in the district.

"We are now raising money through credit as pressure on finance and human resources mounts during the construction," Qiu said.

A Development Forum on the International CBD will be held in Beijing between September 12-13.

Officials hope to learn from overseas experiences in developing CBS as well as promoting the one in Beijing.

The event is organized by the management committee in co-ordination with nine other units, including the economy and investment institutes under the State Development Planning Commission.

(China Daily August 1, 2002)