Since Beijing stopped collecting fees at public toilets a few years ago, building and maintaining public toilets has become a headache for district governments.

To solve this problem, the government of Beijing's Fengtai District has decided to raise funds for construction of public toilets by allowing investors to use parts of the toilet building for commercial purposes.

Two companies have won the bid to build and manage 50 first-class public toilets along main streets and roads in Fengtai District. The new toilets will be three-story buildings, with the semi-basement and part of the ground floor designated as public toilets and the rest for commercial use.

In addition, commercial advertisements are allowed in the toilet areas.

These public toilets are expected to be put into use by November this year.

It is estimated that construction of the new-type toilets will cost around 800,000 yuan, or some US$96,000.

(CRI.com May 8, 2004)