Beijing plans underground town to ease congestion

BEIJING: Facing severe traffic congestion and land use bottlenecks, Beijing is reportedly planning to build an 'underground town' by 2020.

Seventeen areas, including the traditional commercial district of Wangfujing and flourishing Central Business District, have been fixed as the key zones for tapping underground space, the Beijing Municipal Institute of City Planning and Design said.

In the long run, the underground town will cover 90 million square meters, with per capita underground space reaching five square meters in the city, according to a plan of the institute.

Currently, Beijing has developed 30 million square meters of underground area, said Shi Xiaodong, a designer of the underground programme with the institute.

Underground floor space has expanded by three million square metres in Beijing annually, accounting for ten per cent of the city's total floor space completed each year, Shi said.

About 30 per cent of the newly developed underground space are parking lots, and underground traffic services account for another 30 per cent. The remaining parts are used for commercial and cultural purposes.