Roads and rails are clamouring for private investment in the capital in the lead-up to 2008.

Director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform Ding Xiangyang yesterday said the north expressway to the Capital International Airport, the Beijing-Pinggu expressway, the third-phase project of the Beijing-Chengde expressway and the State Highway No 110 renovation are all open to investors who want to build or operate them.

Ding told local legislators in a report yesterday that subway projects would also adopt a franchise system along with petrol stations and parking lots.

The Beijing municipal government had opened infrastructure building and operation to private investment in an attempt to ease pressure on the government and improve service standards, Ding said.

Subway Line No 4 already has a Hong Kong-based company as investor and operator.

Private investment of 4.6 billion yuan (US$560 million) was then pumped into the subway line, the official said.

So far, more than 10 projects in Beijing have attracted non-government investment from home and abroad, bringing in 11 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) in total, according to Ding.

At the conference of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress yesterday, Director of the Beijing Municipal Audit Bureau Yang Xiaochao made an audit report for last year.

(China Daily July 22, 2005)