Experts are prepared to draft a plan to restructure the general layout of Beijing as part of the efforts to alleviate the traffic jams that have been increasingly troubling residents, according to the Beijing Star Daily.

Quan Yongshen, director of the Beijing Municipal Traffic Development Research Center, who described the current layout development of Beijing as "making a pancake," said it has become amajor factor resulting in traffic problems.

Under the current city layout of Beijing, most of the businesses and government buildings are located in the central area, and the residential areas are found in the outskirts, which means people have to move into and out of the central area every day, causing a heavy burden to the traffic system.

Since last year, the municipal government has invested hugely to improve the city layout, and the central government has urged Beijing to complete a general development program for the city layout within this year, which will be implemented after being approved by the State Council, Quan said.

Different from the present pattern, in which there is only one large central urban area, the new layout plan aims to develop several highly independent sub-centers in the city, which have industrial plants, businesses and residential buildings as well as good public facilities, Quan said.

Under the new multi-center layout, residents will not have to shuttle in and out in limited directions, and the rush hour jams are expected to be greatly relieved, Quan added.

The districts to be developed into new urban centers include Yizhuang, Tongzhou, Shunyi, Changping and Shahe. For instance, Shunyi District is expected to develop into a manufacturing base of Beijing, the paper said.

In 2004, Beijing will invest some 35 billion yuan to upgrade its traffic infrastructure, and construct more new expressways, according to sources.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2004)