SHENZHEN Metro Line 5, the longest in the second phase of the city’s subway project, has been approved by the Central Government, allowing its construction to begin and link four other Metro lines and inter-city railways.

According to Chinese-language newspapers over the weekend, the 42-kilometer-long Line 5, will cost nearly 20 billion yuan (US$2.86 billion).

Line 5 will start at Qianhai Bay in Nanshan District, with an extension south to Shekou port, and wind through Bao’an and Longgang districts with two interchanges at Bao’an Central and Longhua Train Terminal before terminating at the Grand Theater in Luohu District, the Shenzhen Evening News said.

The line, consisting of 29 stations, completes a loop of the city’s underground traffic with other lines. It is expected to handle 1.2 million passengers daily. It has interchanges with Metro Lines 1, 2, 3 and 4, providing easy access by Metro to all the city’s six districts, the Daily Sunshine said. It is not yet known when construction on Line 5 will start.

The completion of the Metro line will also boost the economic development in Bao’an and Longgang districts and ease traffic congestion outside the Special Economic Zone, making property there more attractive to homebuyers.

The city’s first Metro line, running from Shenzhen Railway Station in Luohu to Window of the World, opened at the end of 2004.

Currently, five underground rail projects comprising two new Metro lines and three extension lines are being built in the city. At least 60 construction sites for the Metro project alone inside the Special Economic Zone are under way.

The 23-kilometer Line 1 extension, which runs from Window of the World to the airport, is expected to be in service at the end of the year. The second phase of Line 4, which will link the Children’s Palace in Futian with downtown Longhua in Bao’an will be ready next year.

Work on Line 3, which will connect Hongling Road Central with Longxing Street in Longgang, started late last year.

(Wei Jie)