Living conditions to improve
15/12/2003 14:40
In a bid to improve local living conditions, the Shanghai government
invested a record amount in infrastructure construction last year to improve
traffic as well as added lo-cost home supplies and protected the surrounding
environment.
In 2003, the city's input in infrastructure construction,
involving more than 20 key projects, is expected to surpass last year's total of
54 billion yuan (US$6.5 billion).
Construction in the traffic network has
increased the bus lines across the Huangpu-River from 26 to 44 and the length of
rail line transportation from 65 to 112 kilometers, with 287 kilometers of
highway still under construction.
To provide more affordable homes for local
low-income families and help them battle against the high-flying housing market,
the Shanghai government has launched an economy-housing program. Under the
program, 3 million square meters of projects selling for under 3,500 yuan per
square meter will be constructed.
For the old houses, the government has
unveiled a reconstruction program to fix and upgrade living facilities and
conditions. The move will cover 1.25 million square meters of existing
dilapidated residential areas and 107 elevators.
Meanwhile, since August the
Shanghai government has adopted a property manager system to upgrade the
property management service for local residents. So far, 4,153 property managers
have been trained and 3,728 have been licensed for the management posts.
In
environment, this year the Shanghai government has added 4,155 hectares of green
land to raise the local per-capital green area to a record high of 9 square
meters and increase the green area ratio to 35 percent.
It has also launched
a second-round three-year act to further improve the local environment.
To
make the city more accessible for handicapped people, Shanghai has completed the
no-barrier reconstruction of 220 public venues in 2003 and built 1,000 ramps for
wheelchairs and 40 kilometers of roads for the blind.
Jane Chen / Shanghai Daily news
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