Beijing's decision to include more funds from private sources in the city's infrastructure construction works was well received by the city's legislature Tuesday.

Speaking at the 32nd session of the standing committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, Chai Xiaozhong, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, said the city has been using more funds from private investors to boost the capital's development in the past three years.

He said the city's adoption of a tender bidding system in infrastructure construction has helped alleviate the government's financial pressure and save money.

In adopting a franchise mode in the city's subway construction, Beijing is a pioneer, he said.

At the proportion of 7 to 3 (governmental investment to private funds), the government openly selected investors through tender bidding and authorized franchise rights upon completion.

MTR Corporation Limited in Hong Kong and the Capital Group Co Ltd were chosen as partners in constructing Subway Line No 4, which is planned to traverse the city from north to south, and gained the franchise after completion at a cost of 4.6 billion yuan (US$575 million).

The city also made an attempt to use a BT mode (Build-Transfer) in the construction of the Olympic branch line of the Beijing Subway and saved 340 million yuan (US$42.5 million), Chai said.

The China Railway Construction Engineering Group and Beijing Capital Highway Development Co Ltd together co-financed 3.5 billion yuan (US$437 million) in the second phase project of the highway linking Beijing and Chengde.

Last year, the city openly invited tender for 10 gas stations along the city's Sixth Ring Road when Sinopec acquired a 30-year franchise at a price of 600 million yuan (US$76 million).

An estimated 117 billion yuan (US$14.6 billion) in private funds have been put into the city's infrastructure projects, Chai said.

Gao Zuozhi, director of the Financial and Economic Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, said the introduction of social funds marks substantial progress in the government's fixed assets investment.