Tianjin, the largest port city near Beijing, the national capital and host of the 2008 Olympic Games, has announced plans to invest 180 billion yuan (about 22 billion US dollars) to build the city into a major tourist attraction in the coming five years.
The projects, scheduled to be completed by 2007, are aimed at cleaning up the Haihe River (which runs through the city) and turning the river area into a huge commercial and tourist complex.
The program will include a number of infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, flood control facilities, compounds, office buildings and sewage handling facilities.
All these projects will invite domestic and international bidders and use loans from domestic banks, according to Chen Zhifeng, director of the city's planning and land resource bureau.
The first phase of the program, which begins now and runs through the end of next year, costs 19.6 billion yuan (about 2.36 billion US dollars).
(Xinhua News Agency Novembe 24, 2002)
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