Shanghai Daily News

Shanghai government has adopted a preliminary plan for developing underground space around the city, but the blueprint doesn't clarify the commercial rules for investors looking to operate underground space.

The plan pinpoints eight major underground development locations - all of which are near subway transfer stations - and divides the underground space into three functional layers according to depth.

"The proper utilization of the city's potential underground space is crucial for the city's long-term and sustainable development," Tang Zhiping, a spokesperson for the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau, said yesterday.

He acknowledged that the city needs a specific rule to regulate how investors can acquire or transfer the rights to develop underground space.

The plan also doesn't specifically regulate how real estate developers utilize their underground space - including how much space they can use and what measures they must take to prevent cave-ins, officials said.

By the time Shanghai hosts the 2010 World Expo, the city should have 600,000 square meters of usable underground space - mostly entertainment and public facilities attached to existing and future subway transfer stations.

Since Shanghai was built on a soft foundation, rapid urban development has caused an annual 10 millimeters of land subsidence on average in recent years.

The plan states the area between 15 and 40 meters deep underground is exclusively for the construction of subway lines and public utility pipes.