The Pudong New Area government wants to build a ring road around the Lujiazui Area to facilitate both pedestrians and drivers, a senior engineer said yesterday.

If the city government approves the plan, construction would kick off this year to link four existing roads - Yincheng Road E., Yincheng Road S., Yincheng Road W., and Yincheng Road N. - to form a ring.

"When the ring road is created, it will be much more convenient for drivers to find signature business buildings such as the Jin Mao Tower," Cai Yifeng, a senior engineer with the Shanghai Urban Transportation Planning Institute, said yesterday.

He explained the project would include the creation of several underground intersections along the four roads to surround Lujiazui. He said the ring road will make navigating the financial center much easier as traffic indication boards will be raised along the ring road to provide directions to key venues.

Currently, many drivers complain the road network in the area is too confusing to follow because there are restriction of making turns at many intersections.

"When I carry passenger to Lujiazui, I am always confused about the right route to reach any of the area's signature buildings, even though they all seem so close together," said Wang Guofu, a driver with the Qiangsheng Taxi Company.