A new drainage system in Yangpu District will be completed soon, a water bureau official said yesterday.

The Big Dinghai Drainage System, as it is known in official circles, will cover 4.25 square kilometers, and comprise a pumping station and assorted pipelines. It will serve about 220,000 households, the official said.

More than 8,000 households in low-lying areas, including several old communities in the Dinghai area, were inundated last June when the local drainage system, which was built in the 1950s, failed to cope with the heavy rains.

“The new system will improve that situation,” the official said, adding that it will be operational before the start of this year’s flood season.

The water project is part of a 6 billion yuan (US$927 million) infrastructure development program for Yangpu, which also includes new roads, bridges, tunnels, Metro lines and utility upgrades.

Yangpu Party Secretary Zhuge Yujie said the work was much needed.

“The district government aims to make up for the infrastructure shortage, and assure the well-being of residents,” he said.

Sixteen of the 20 projects planned are related to transport, said Mou Juan, deputy director with the district’s transport commission.

Among them will be the construction of Metro Line 18. Once completed — in 2020 — the 36-kilometer line will connect Baoshan and Yangpu districts to the Pudong New Area.