Bureaus Exclusive

Wuhan top leader calls for more construction

By Guo Rui (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-02-28 17:37

WUHAN -The top leader of Wuhan, the largest city in Central China, has pledged to push ahead with his massive construction program despite the storms of criticism and opposition.

Ruan Chengfa, party secretary of CPC Wuhan Committee, said he will insist on his policy on "digging" the city in next years, though some netizens blamed him for making the people’s life inconvenient.

But Ruan said what he did is just out of his responsibility as a leader, "If I stop the construction, I will be sorry for the city and the people living here."

Ruan’s words has aroused a hot online discussion about the China’s urbanization construction.

As People Daily reported, the china's urbanization rate went up to 46.59 percent in 2009. It takes China 30 years to achieve this level which however took the western countries 200 years.

Last year, there were 5,000 construction sites synchronously launched in this city with a population of 9 million, the local media Metropolis Daily reported.

The large-scale construction made the city’s traffic paralyze intermittently and plenty of dust float in the air, so during the city’s People's Congress and Political Consultative Conference(CPPCC), quite a lot of delegates in the two sessions submitted the proposal of how to solve the transportation and bad environment issues.

"I am afraid Ruan’s words could not satisfy all," Wang Bing, a professor specializing in environmental values at Huangzhong University of Science and Technology, told China Daily that the city’s attractive appearance and swift economy development will not be expected to contribute to citizen’s well-being. Wang added based on his research, people’s happiness has diluted by the fast development.

"Though it is painful to push ahead, we cannot slow down the pace of construction," Wu Xinmu, head of Regional Development Research Institute of Wuhan University, told China Daily that China is a developing country, and it has to promote the infrastructure construction.

In his opinion, Wuhan should continue the policy to build more roads, and it must pay more attention to solve the traffic problems. “Effective rules are needed.” Wu added.

In Municipal Government Work Report of Wuhan, it said that till 2015, Wuhan will build a rapid transit system, which will effectively alleviate the traffic pressure.

"I am afraid that is only a wonderful dream; I have had enough of bad air and terrible traffic." said Li Jun, 38, a Wuhan local said.