Beijing municipal government will plough 4.5 billion yuan (US$544 million) this year into improving the city's transport network, said a senior official at the 12th Beijing Municipal People's Congress.
Work will start this year on seven subway and urban railway lines across the capital.
By 2008 - when Beijing will host the Olympics - more than 150 kilometres of urban railways will be built.
This will expand the total length of urban railway lines in the capital to 300 kilometres, said Shen Baochang, director of the Beijing Development Planning Commission.
In his report on the 2003 Plan for the National Economic and Social Development of Beijing, Shen said the city will push forward the construction of the Fifth Ring and Sixth Ring roads. At least 80 kilometres of roads in central Beijing will also be rebuilt and extended.
The capital city built 128 kilometres of expressways and opened a 20.62-kilometre western section of an urban railway last year. The eastern part of the railway will be put into operation this year.
Beijing residents will also say farewell to pollution clouds, according to the development plan.
The city government has spent 46.6 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) over the past five years to improve Beijing's air quality, Mayor Liu Qi told the meeting.
By the end of last year, air quality in the city reached the second-best level or better for 201 days, more than half the whole year, Liu said.
The municipal government will invest a further 2.1 billion yuan (US$254 million) this year in environmental protection, said Wu Shixiong, director of the Beijing Finance Bureau, in his report of the fiscal budget draft for 2003 which is being deliberated by deputies to the congress.
Reducing coal consumption, curbing automobile emissions, improving sewage treatment and building greenbelts to combat sand storms are top of the agenda, Shen said.
Though the city changes every day, the unique charm of "old Beijing" remains for its residents.
The municipal government will allocate 500 million yuan (US$60 million) this year to protect its cultural and historical relics, according to the budget draft.
Ancient treasures of the city, such as historic temples, imperial gardens, noble residences and imperial tombs as well as their landscapes will be better preserved, Mayor Liu Qi pledged.
The local government will also spend 4 billion yuan (US$484 million) to improve the social security system and medical insurance system.
A total of 1 billion yuan (US$121 million) will be spent on preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
(China Daily January 15, 2003)
