Mayor Yu Youjun announced the plans recently while addressing the first meeting of the urban planning commission of Shenzhen.

However, the city would work harder still to reduce land transfers and control real estate development in a rational way so as to prevent a real estate bubble, said Yu.

Mayor Yu urged urban planners to reserve more room for the development of industries such as the high-tech sector, advanced manufacturing and modern services in the coastal city.

He also underlined the necessity of taking Hong Kong's resources and its complementary functions into account in major construction projects, including large cross-border infrastructure and environmental protection schemes.

Yu also emphasized the importance of coordinating with other cities on the Pearl River Delta to avoid wasting resources through repetitive construction.

Shenzhen, one of China's five special economic zones facing Hong Kong across the Pearl River, has four land connections to Hong Kong. It is a crossroads for road traffic from cities on the Pearl River Delta to Hong Kong.

Shenzhen and Hong Kong, Yu added, would start to build a highway bridge on Shenzhen Bay this year to promote closer economic links.

Therefore, planning and designing cross-border infrastructure such as the eastern and western thoroughfares of Shenzhen, the bullet train service between Hong Kong and Guangdong province, as well as the coastal freeway would also be stepped up, the mayor said.

(eastday.com February 10, 2003)