China will build subways in at least five cities in the next five years, according to a senior official from the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC).
Li Zibin, a vice-minister in charge of SDPC, disclosed this during a group discussion of deputies to the Ninth National People's Congress, in session in Beijing since Monday.
He named the five cities as Chongqing, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Wuhan and Qingdao.
Shenyang and Suzhou also have plans for a subway, he added.
The SDPC estimated that investment into urban transportation systems in the next five years will total 800 billion yuan (US$96.39 billion), a large proportion of which will be spent on the construction of subway systems.
Four Chinese cities currently have subways. They are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Guangzhou.
(Xinhua 03/07/2001)
