Hosting Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, a historical chance given the Chinese capital, will surely advance the city's modernization by a big margin. To ensure an excellent Olympiad, in the coming five years, Beijing will pump RMB180bn yuan (US$21.74 billion) into urban infrastructure for narrowing gaps between Beijing and other foreign megalopolis.
-- 90bn yuan (US$10.87 billion) on tridimensional tranasportation construction - intellectualized traffic management
Of the whole input, a half will be spent on transportation projects -construction undertakings as of expressways, highways, subways, light rails and other supplementary works. Among these are included over 100km new rail lines (and these along with those already in operation will add up to a mileage of over 150km), building and renovating over 200km roads, building over 700km highways and others. The arrangements are as follows:
-- 45bn yuan (US$5.43 billion) on environment protection - no industrial pollution in city proper
"Green Olympics" is one of the three themes of Beijing 2008 Olympics. Beijing's air quality index will be at a high level set by the state and World Health Organization. By 2005, over 90 percent of urban sewage can be treated and 98 percent of refuse from daily life will be well disposed of. Along with a second natural gas pipeline to be built from Shaanxi to Beijing, gas supply in Beijing will, by 2005, see a three to four times increase when compared to today's.
Meanwhile, solar energy, heating technologies and Nato-technology will also be used for Olympic construction.
-- 30bn yuan (US$3.62 billion) on digital construction -- popularizing higher education
Beijing will take the lead in popularizing higher education in China in coming five to ten years, keeping some 100 universities and colleges by restructure and training talents for Beijing's economic development and China's WTO entry by course readjustment.
-- 15bn yuan (US$1.81 billion) on water, power and gas reconstruction: 99 percent to be guaranteed
In the coming five years, some 80 percent of families in Beijing will acquire affordable housing and the per capita floor space will rise to 18 sq.m. According to Director Zhang of Beijing Power Supply Corporation, currently, there are altogether 246 transformer substations in Beijing, registering a yearly power consumption amount of 31.8bn kilowatt-hours. The maximum power charge is 6.78 million kilowatts, showing a yearly increase of over 8 percent. By 2005, power consumption in Beijing is estimated to top over 50bn kilowatt-hours and maximum power charge will be 10million kilowatts.
(People's Daily 07/19/2001)
