Construction of Line No 3, which goes through the Tianhe District, will start at the beginning of next month.

Tianhe, a new, modern commercial zone in southeastern Guangzhou, attracts many vehicles and pedestrians every day.

There are seven stops in Tianhe District on Line No 3, accounting for one-third of the line's length. All are in areas of heavy traffic.

At Tiyuxi, Linhexi and Huashi stops, roads will be totally blocked during construction. At Gangding and Shipai stops, they will be partly blocked.

Guangzhou Metro Corporation has responded to the threat of traffic jams by asking for help in developing countermeasures.

As a result, information on a transport plan to accommodate work on the line was released to the public yesterday.

It is the brainchild of the the city's Communication Planning Research Institute, Public Security Bureau, the passenger administration office of the Communication Committee and the Municipal Gardens Bureau.

"Our starting point was to minimize inconvenience for residents," said Xu Dongyu with Guangzhou Metro Corporation.

It is the first communication plan jointly developed by a range of institutes to manage construction work since metro services were introduced. Xu declined to give details of the plan.

"Line No 3 is a rather complicated and long-term project. It's difficult to make very specific predictions of the problems that could emerge in the future construction," Xu told China Daily.

"The plan will be adjusted at every stage."

Xu said the plan to reduce traffic congestion would add to the cost of the project, since it required a series of adjustments to the schedule. But the cost was meagre compared with the need to limit disruptions to the city and to residents.

Guangzhou Metro Corporation asked that drivers keep away from the affected roads and heed the signs near the construction sites to avoid problems.

(China Daily March 6, 2003)