The Chinese capital will rebuild 1,000 public toilets in its
suburbs in 2007 to bring them up to modern standards.
The renovation marks the final stage of a three-year campaign to
"modernize" Beijing's public toilets. Residents and tourists have
often complained about their unsanitary conditions, according to a
report by China News Service.
Beijing will also make more efforts to clean, disinfect and
deodorize all its public toilets, Lu Haijun, director of the City
Planning Committee, was quoted as saying.
All the toilets should be clean, water-conserving and installed
with efficient ventilation equipment, Lu said, without saying that
how much the renovations will cost.
Beijing launched the renovation project in early March of 2005
to replace its notorious back street public toilets with clean,
well-maintained flush ones. The move is part of the city's efforts
to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games.
The plan also includes building new public toilets in areas that
lack them.
By the end of 2006, more than 5,580 public toilets in Beijing
have reached the "modern standard". However the city's goal of
ensuring a public toilet is available within a five-minute walk
anywhere in the city has not been reached.
To solve the problem, the Beijing municipal government has asked
some 3,000 commercial buildings to open their toilets to the
public.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)
