Shenzhen Daily (Tan Xiaomi) SHENZHEN will improve its transportation, environment, security, welfare and urban planning for the 26th Summer Universiade to be held in the city in 2011, Mayor Xu Zongheng told a conference yesterday.
Residents are expected to benefit from the improvements beginning this year, the mayor said.
At a Universiade mobilization conference held at Citizens’ Center yesterday, Xu unveiled a 59-page action blueprint. The city will invest some 180 billion yuan (US$23.68 billion) to achieve the goals set in the blueprint.
In public transportation, five Metro lines and two extension lines with a combined length of more than 155 kilometers will be built before 2011 to smoothen the city’s public transport system. The blueprint expects the Metro to carry 20 percent of the city’s daily passengers before the Universiade is held.
The city government has also promised to finish five Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lines by 2011, covering a total of 100 kilometers.
After 20 expressways are built, drivers will be able to reach any part of the city in under an hour.
Environmental pollution, crime and unemployment will be greatly reduced in the next four years, according to the blueprint.
The city’s downtown area will expand to include Longgang and Bao’an districts, with new towns being built there for the games.
Xu said that the games will help Shenzhen become a metropolis meeting international standards.
The Universiade’s marketing potential will be explored by the municipal government during the next four years, with a profit target set at more than 100 million yuan.
The 26th Universiade is scheduled to be held in Shenzhen between Aug. 8 and 18 in 2011. The 11-day games will include 20 sporting events.