SHENZHEN will start construction of Metro Line 10 and extensions to existing lines 2, 3, 4 and 5. The currently under-construction lines 6 and 9 will also be extended during the Metro’s Phase III project that began in 2011 and ends in 2020, according to a revised plan recently approved by the National Development and Reform Commission.

    The new construction, running 85.1 kilometers, will cost 73 billion yuan (US$11.41 billion). The government will pay for 40 percent, and the rest will be financed by bank loans.

    According to the approval, the Shekou Line will be extended eastward 3.9 kilometers to Liantang. The three new stations will cost 3.2 billion yuan and be completed in 2019.

    The Longgang Line, Line 3, will be extended 1.5 kilometers to the south to the Futian Bonded Zone and 9.4 kilometers eastward to Liulian Station.

    The project will cost 7.8 billion yuan and be completed between 2019 and 2020.

    The Longhua Line, Line 4, will be extended 10.6 kilometers from Qinghu to Niuhu. The Huanzhong Line, Line 5, will be extended 7.6 kilometers from Qianhai to Chiwan. Line 6, which is under construction, will be extended from Shenzhen North Railway Station to Shenzhen Science Museum. It will run 11.5 kilometers, have six stations and cost 7.7 billion yuan.

    Metro Line 9 will be extended from Hongshuwan to Hanghai Road in Qianhai. It will run 10.7 kilometers, have 10 stations and cost 9 billion yuan.

    Metro Line 10 will link Futian Checkpoint with Pinghu. It will run 29.9 kilometers, have 24 stations and cost 28.6 billion yuan.

    By 2020, Shenzhen will have 11 Metro lines running 435 kilometers and serving about 40 percent of public transport riders. (Han Ximin)