Spend US$63b on urban transit
(Bloomberg)
Updated: 2006-07-10 09:34
China plans to spend more than 500 billion yuan (US$63 billion) on subways
and light railway networks between 2010 and 2015 to ease pollution and traffic
jams in its major cities.
The government wants to build 1,321 kilometers of rail lines during the
period in 15 cities, Li Fengjun, deputy head of the railway division of the
Ministry of Construction, said at a conference in Beijing today.
About 45 million people, more than the population of Spain, will move from
China's rural areas to its cities and towns between 2006 and 2010, according to
the National Development and Reform Commission. The migration is causing
congestion and pollution across the country.
"The development of China's city rail network will peak in the next 10
years,'' Li said. "The expansion will benefit'' related industries.
The number of cities that will have more than 10 million people will double
to 6 by 2020 from 2003, Li said.
China also plans to spend about 500 billion yuan to build 1,500 kilometers of
city rail links between 2006 and 2010, the commission said last year.
The country currently has 21 subways and light rail lines in operation, Shi
Zhongheng, an academic with China Academy of Engineering, said at the
conference. Shi is involved in the government's planning for the rail networks.
China will need more than 6,800 railcars between 2010 and 2015 to run on the
new rail lines, Li said.
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