Jane Chen /Shanghai Daily news

Ground was broken yesterday for the construction of part of a housing project between the Mid Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road. It has been called the largest of its sort, www.eastday.com reported.
The part under construction will be used to relocate residents from the downtown areas and will provide 90,000 square meters of housing space within two years, according to the project's developer Shanghai Cheng Kai Group.
As planned, the entire project, called Wanyuan City and covering 94 hectares, will be divided into six blocks with a total construction space exceeding 1 million square meters featuriing villas and mid-to-up-scale apartments that will provide homes to 20,000 people.  A 10-hecatre park, two natural waterways and three green spaces will traverse the project, according to a Cheng Kai official as quoted in the Eastday report.
The official, not identified by Eastday, did not deny the report that a US construction company is interested in joining the project.  He said the project, Cheng Kai's largest ever, requires more partners.  "More than 10 design firms are needed for the various phases as each is targeting different customers," he noted.
Wanyuan City is in the Gumei area of southwest Shanghai's Minhang District, an area designed as an international residential center. Its plan includes 5.32 million square meters of housing space for 210,000 residents.  Currently, there are more than 20 housing projects completed in the area with a total housing space of nearly 3 million square meters.
Industry analysts remain cautious about the project, citing the uncertainty of the current property market.
As a result of the government's control measures which have taken effect this month, housing trade volume in the area between the Mid Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road has shrunk faster than in other areas of the city, they said.  In the same month, only four new housing projects were marketed in this ring area, they added.