CONSTRUCTION will start on a town oriented toward ecological tourism, leisure, sports and cultural experience in Guangming New Area in September.

The OCT Guangming Town project, with an investment of 30 billion yuan (US$4.55 billion), covers an area of 11 sqkm including 2.48 sqkm of farmland. It will be developed around a variety of themes such as agricultural tourism, sports, industrial service and ecological community.

The sports park will include five countryside trails for walking, leisure, sports and education, and four bases for sports, exploration, education and a nature reserve.

Marathon Mountain and Lake Greenway, the first part of the project, will run 75.4 kilometers, connecting the town with Guangming Lake, Guangming Forest Park, Guanlan Forest Park and several communities.

The first phase of the greenway runs 30.6 kilometers in Guangming and will cost 285 million yuan. The government plans 950 parking places.

The project is one of 13 projects that Guangming will kick start in September. The projects will cost 50.8 billion yuan and annual investment will reach 5.06 billion yuan. (Han Ximin)