Shenyang, capital city of northeast China's Liaoning Province and one of major heavy industrial production bases of the nation, has recently obtained approval from the Central Government to build a metro system, aiming to reduce traffic jam and provide opportunities for local manufacturers.

According to the local government, the planned subway system will embrace a west-east line, a south-north line, a loop line and two branches lines. It will cover the city proper and peripheral development areas, stretching 182.5 kilometers in total.

Construction work on the initial-phase projects of Line 1 and Line 2 will start this year and conclude in 2012, with a combined length of 40.85 km and 17.18 billion yuan (2.1 billion US dollars) in combined investment.

It will take 54 months to build the initial phase of the Line 1, which is due to open to traffic in April 2010; and take 48 months to construct the first phase of the Line 2, which is scheduled for completion in October of the same year, with an average construction cost of 410 million yuan (50.6 million US dollars) for one km of the subway.

As one of the key cities in northeast China, Shenyang had a population of 7.2 million at the end of last year. Buses constitute the backbone of the city's public transport system, 5,000 in all.

Source: Xinhua