Zhang Qian

    zhqcindy@163.com

    THE year of 2016 was labeled the “Year of Urban Management” by Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin at the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of Shenzhen’s legislature in the Civic Center yesterday.

    In 2016 Shenzhen will try to improve its ability to control illegal construction and prevent water pollution.

    The mayor also announced specific goals for the city in 2016, the first year of the city’s 13th Five-Year Plan. The growth of GDP in 2016 is expected to be between 8 and 8.5 percent. The unemployment rate will be held below 3 percent with the consumer price index to be kept under 3 percent.

    Urban management refers to the control of public security, work safety, construction, roads, pollution and air quality.

    A special fund of 15 billion yuan (US$2.28 billion) will be spent strengthening the city’s public security this year, especially around dumpsites, dangerous materials and other risks to the public.

    Xu stressed the importance of drawing lessons from the fatal landslide in Guangming New Area.

    As many as 6,000 elevators and escalators will be checked, it was announced.

    The city has vowed to curb illegal buildings in 2016 and will gradually demolish or renovate existing illegal constructions.

    Statistics from the city’s urban planning and land resources commission show that there were 373,000 illegal buildings with a floor space of 428 million square meters by the end of 2014, accounting for 43 percent of the total floor space in the city.

    Water treatment will continue to be carried out in 2016, according to Xu. The city has been working on treating polluted water in major rivers and Shenzhen Bay since last year. Construction of two new water treatment plants will be finished by 2016.

    (Continued on P3)

    Shenzhen ranked well in terms of air quality around China over the past few years and the city announced it will maintain good air quality in 2016. The city is going to replace most public buses with electronic buses.

    Apart from improving urban management, the government’s work report delivered by Xu also highlighted nine key fields that the city needs to work on.

    The construction of Metro Line 6, 8 and 10 will continue in 2016 and Shenzhen International Airport will be expanded.

    Thirty-billion yuan will be invested in expanding and renovating the city’s 30 public schools.

    Construction on two new municipal hospitals will continue, along with a shifting focus to residents seeking treatments at neighborhood clinics before going to the hospital.