1.5 mln temporary homes being built

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Source: CCTV.com | 06-03-2008 08:51

Teams from around the country are rushing to put up 1.5 million temporary houses for people left homeless by the quake. Officials say the first batch of these homes should be ready for people to move in by the end of June.

Teams from around the country are rushing to put up 1.5 million temporary houses for people left homeless by  the quake.

Several days ago, this was farmland on the outskirts of Jiangyou city, Mianyang. Now foundations have been finished, ready for the construction of 11 thousand prefab houses. 50 thousand people left homeless by the quake will soon be sheltered here.

Li Zhenchang, Chief Commander of BUCG Relief Team from Beijing said "This area has hospitals, shops, primary schools and middle school. It's a fully functional living place for those people."

In Jiangyou city, nearly 360 thousand people are waiting for shelter. Builders have found five areas of this scale on the map for the first batch of temporary houses. Infrastructure is better here with electricity and water. The Beijing municipal government has deployed over a thousand people from 8 companies to help with the relief work.

Many prefab houses are being put up in mountain areas. Leigu town is one of two settlement sites in Beichuan. The earthquake caused heavy damage here, so all the tents are full of people. As temperatures rise, so does the urgency for building these homes.

But 99.7 percent of Beichuan is mountainous and there's very little land available for construction. The Jinan engineering group has designed a new type of terraced prefab house to raise capcity by one third.

Tian Zhuang, Chief Engineer of Jinan Engineering Team said "Six roads are designed to pass through the area. These houses are also equipped with water supply, electricity, and internet connection. Experts from some design companies in Jinan city have advised us on the construction."

Jinan City in eastern Shandong province has also donated a lot of essential items, like bedding, toothbrushes, and washing powder so that everything is ready for people when they move in.

In this mountain area, four thousand makeshift houses should be finished in three weeks, housing 12,000 people. Another 3000 makeshift houses will be built.

Editor:Xiong Qu