Beijing has already invited international tenders to revise its plan for metro construction. It is the first time in China’s history that it has invited international tenders to build a city public transportation networks, according to today's Beijing Review.
This new metro lines blueprint will take into account not only the 360-square-km downtown area, but also the vast 16,800-square-km urban and suburb areas. Other means of metro transport will be used, including maglev trains. In addition, areas such as Zhongguancun Hi-Tech Park, the Central Business District (CBD), and the future Olympiad Athletes Village will become major centers of attraction to reflect these new developments, and the current chessboard-pattern layout of the lines will be changed into crossed line layouts for added passenger convenience. Following these adjustments, the metro lines will then extend to more than 600 km.
Many influential planning companies worldwide are now involved in this metro line construction. After careful selection, eight companies successfully entered the final competition, and four of the companies are non-Chinese.
The current metro line construction plan was based on the guidelines of the General Planning of Beijing for Urban Development up to 2010, approved by the State Council. It consists of 13 metro and city rail lines covering 408 km—54 km of which are currently in use. In recent years, significant changes, such as the establishment of Zhongguancun Hi-Tech Park, and construction of the CBD, plus Beijing’s victory in the 2008 Olympic Games bid have, in turn, facilitated significant changes in the original plan.
(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2001)
