Mr Wang Qingyun, Director of Basic Industries under the State Development and Reform Commission, said that the State Council has approved 22 new metro projects in 13 provinces and four municipalities involving a total investment of Rmb882bn. The cities are Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Harbin, Shenyang, Chengdu, Wuhan, Xian, Chongqing, Ningbo, Wuxi, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Fuzhou, Kunming, Dalian, Nanchang and Qingdao. Between them, the cities will build 79 metro lines totalling 2,260km.

These cities all fulfil government criteria for new metro projects: an urban population of at least 3m, a GDP exceeding Rmb100bn and local government revenue of Rmb10bn or higher. Indeed, China has nearly 50 cities that meet the criteria, according to Mr Wang.

National moratoriums on metro projects were imposed across China in 1995 and 2002 in response to fears of an overheating economy. Some local government officials reportedly expressed relief that their projects have been included in the list after a seven-year ban. They hope that these projects will stimulate the local economy and bring job opportunities for the local population. The cost of building 1km of metro line is estimated at Rmb700m and Chongqing’s No.1 line, approved in the 1990s, was abandoned at the time due to a lack of finance.

Currently, 10 cities in China have metros.