THE development of the Shenzhen metropolitan area, which encompasses five cities – Shenzhen, Dongguan, Huizhou, Heyuan and Shanwei, has been a subject under discussion for lawmakers and political advisers attending the annual meetings of Guangdong’s legislature and political advisory body, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The Fifth session of the 13th Guangdong Provincial People’s Congress, the provincial legislature, and the Fifth session of the 12th Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the political advisory body, opened in Guangzhou on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively.

Qu Jian, a political adviser to the provincial advisory body, believed that the construction of the Shenzhen metropolitan area is still in the initial stage. The top priority is to promote the further interconnection of the area’s transportation infrastructure and speed up intercity rail construction.

Qu suggested building a metropolitan rail service network with Shenzhen as the core, and Dongguan, Huizhou and Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone as important pivots, as well as expediting the construction of intercity lines from the Shenzhen airport to Daya Bay, between Shenzhen and Huizhou, and the Dapeng branch line to meet people’s travel needs.

In addition, he suggested strengthening the connection of road networks in the border areas between Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou, improving the planning and layout of border roads, and deepening the planning and research of intercity expressway projects to build a more accessible intercity road network system.

According to Han Jun, a provincial lawmaker, the coordinated development of industry and innovation in the Shenzhen metropolitan area needs to be deepened, while its industrial chain division system needs to be improved.

Some deputies maintained that accelerating the co-construction and sharing of public services are keys for the Shenzhen metropolitan area to move from regional cooperation to in-depth urban integration.

Han urged efforts in promoting intercity government services in the metropolitan area, strengthening government service data sharing, and jointly enhancing government service standards and innovating service methods. (Zhang Yu)