Construction on a major educational project,the University Town, started recently in the economic and technological development zone in Hefei, the capital of eastChina's Anhui Province.

Covering an area of 13.34 square kilometers, the town will have 120,000 students and teaching staff from a dozen colleges and institutes, according to a local education official.

The town has been designed to deliver a comprerhensive education system and includes a variety of facilities such as lecture rooms, a library, a research center, a museum, a concert hall, a sports center, dormitories and an education development center.

By September next year, the first phase of the town's construction will be completed, and 6,000 students from the Hefei Industrial University (HIU) will be admitted.

The HIU campus is to cover 100 hectares and will enroll a totalof 14,000 students who will receive higher education during the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2201-2005) peiod.

The town will also be an accelerant for industrial cooperation and educational exchanges between enterprises and universities on scientific research developments, the official said.

( November 27, 2001)