New fund established for Beijing's second administrative center

BEIJING -- A fund to help Beijing build a second administrative center in suburban Tongzhou has been set up with an initial pool of 30 billion yuan (around $4.6 billion dollars), authorities said Friday.

The fund was established by the Beijing municipal government, which provided 20 percent of the investment, and Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), which offered the remaining 80 percent, according to a government meeting.

The investments will be mainly used in sectors such as infrastructure, public services and the district's industrial transformation and upgrading.

The fund will be professionally managed. Officials and experts from financial and audit fields will evaluate projects to ensure the money is used properly.

Beijing is building a subsidiary administrative center in Tongzhou in a bid to cure "urban ills," including overpopulation, traffic congestion and smog. It is expected to relocate about 400,000 residents from the city center to the suburban district.

The decision to build the new administrative center also serves as part of the capital's contribution to the national Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integrated development plan.