Shanghai Daily News

Pudong New Area announced last week it is to construct the country's largest parking lot on Chenshan Road. When completed, the lot will cover 108,182 square meters.

The 630 million yuan (US$78.8 million) project, the Chengshan Road Parking Lot, will function as a transport hub for buses, office centers for traffic companies and a bus service center. It is expected to be completed in 2008.

Located at the junctions of Yanggao, Chengshan, Zouping and Chuanhe roads, the parking lot will contain multi-level parking areas, a 15-story office building, a car service area and an administration building.

When the project is finished, the area will be capable of holding 1,200 cars at a time, in addition to providing services for more than 1,000 cars.

Due to its location next to the 2008 World Expo main session hall, the district government said the Chengshan Road Parking Lot will become one of the most important transport hubs during the exposition.

The establishment of grand parking lots is deeply needed due to the increasing number of automobiles and the growing complaints about the lack of parking in the city.

Statistics shows that the figures for buses in Pudong New Area is now 3,400, about 4 1/2 times more than 15 years ago when the area's development started.

The soaring number of buses reflects the fast development of Pudong and the growing population over the past few years. This has directly led to a shortfall in parking areas around the district.

Currently, 10 Pudong parking areas are considered as overloaded. With a capacity for 1,545 cars, the actual parking number is closer to 2,000. The only solution for those whose cars can't find a space, is to park alongside the road which may cause traffic accidents or other social problems.

The district's transport committee said that it will forge ahead with its efforts in the construction of traffic infrastructure over the next few years.

During the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), 1.08 billion yuan was designated to be invested into a new-round of infrastructure construction for car service spaces, a transport hub for the Metro line and buses and bus lanes.

By year end, local residents will also see great changes in bus stops with digital billboard installed around the district.

The total investment of transport infrastructure in the district this year is estimated to be 275 million yuan, the most it has spent to date.