Urban mass transit projects planned

A fund with about 2 trillion yuan ($320.2 billion) has been allocated to urban transportation projects in 34 cities, Liu Heming, a senior official of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, said on Thursday.

The next few years are expected to see a quick development of urban mass transit projects, Liu said, according to chinanews.com.

Urban mass transit projects that have finished construction and have been put into operation represent more than 1,700 kilometers, with projects still under construction representing more than 2,000 kilometers.

The 34 cities have mapped out transportation networks as long as 4,300 kilometers.

China has achieved an urbanization rate of about 50 percent, and is already considered an urban society. Rapid development is expected to continue in the next 20 to 30 years, with urban mass transit projects expected to grow quickly as well, Liu said.

huangying@chinadaily.com.cn