Massive facelift for a better future
Improved infrastructure, optimized urban planning and expanding ecological areas are making the city of Foshan a better place to do business and live in, the result of the city’s threeyear facelift plan.
Although some of the projects are not yet complete, the massive plan began in 2012 in an attempt to fundamentally improve the city’s infrastructure and overall image by 2014.
The work is progressing as scheduled with completed projects already garnering praise from locals and businesspeople, according to local media reports.
Most of the 103 major infrastructure projects are under construction or will begin by the end of this year, with 31 of them operational, the reports said.
The projects mostly relate to renovating the aging downtown areas and public facilities, which will require a total investment of 112.2 billion yuan for the government.
The core part of the plan is Foshan New Town, the city’s future central business district. The project, integrating industrial and urban development, will need an investment of more than 9 billion yuan to become a site for high-quality services and upscale commerce.
Projects already complete include urban roads, large parking lots, parks, markets and other public facilities, as well as pollution control projects for rivers and technological renovation of a thermal power plant in Nanhai district.
New ecological and scenic areas, including 75.5 kilometers of green paths, have been added in the first three quarters of this year after 142.6 km paths were completed last year.
Many locals said they are satisfied with the unprecedented moves.
“Despite noise from the construction sites, I can feel the traffic and the environment are getting better,” said Huang Weiguo, a middle-aged Foshan resident who runs an interior decoration business in the city.
“The temporary inconvenience is tolerable when I look forward to a new city — cleaner, tidier, in better order with fresher air and smoother traffic someday in the near future,” he said.
Analysts said that Foshan’s massive facelift plan will be good for its future development.
They said a better living and working environment will attract more people to live, work and do business in the city.
Funding for the projects are mostly from governments at the city, district and township levels.
The city government said it also encourages businesses to get involved in projects in the forms like BOT, or build-operate-transfer.