Right for feasibility of cities' subway plans to be assessed

THE NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND REFORM COMMISSION, China's top economic policy planner, vetoed the planned construction of a subway in a provincial capital in the west of China recently. Southern Metropolis Daily comments:

The NDRC approved a host of subway construction plans submitted by the local governments, mostly provincial capitals and municipalities, in 2012 and 2013, which were worth about 1 trillion yuan ($150.68 billion) in total. It is estimated that the overall investment in subway construction nationwide from 2014 to 2020 might be 2.5 trillion yuan.

Now some third-and fourth-tier cities also hope to build subways, even if buses are already sufficient to meet the demands of public transport in those cities. What the city governments value most is the huge investment, which can effectively boost local economic growth - an important factor in assessing local officials' performance.