Beijing launches its largest shanty town renovation project

On June 30, a stone-laying ceremony was held marking the launch of Beijing’s largest shanty town renovation project at the Shimenying shanty town estate in Mentougou District.

The shanty town estate in Beijing’s Mentougou District is located at the core of the district, occupying an area of about 7 square kilometers. The total building area is about 1.36 million square meters, around 60 percent of which is used for residential housing.

Reporters learned that the shanty town is a complex area where the old town, aging mines and urban villages interweave. It currently has 25,000 households and a population of 70,000. The annual per capita income for 76 percent of the households in this area is below average in the district. The houses are made up of squat, shabby bungalows worn-out because of years of insufficient maintenance. Cracking foundations and walls of some houses seriously affects the residents’ safety.

Meanwhile, the infrastructure is severely outdated. Facilities like water, power and roads were constructed in 1970s. Journeys are difficult for residents because of the lack of serviceable roads. Aging pipelines make access to water and electricity a problem.

A three year construction and renovation project will take place in the shanty town estate between 2009 and 2011. The project will construct 1.60 million square meters of “settlement housing,” purchase 400,000 square meters of “guaranteed housing,” demolish 1.12 million square meters of old houses and relocate 31, 000 households.

Areas like Shimenying and Shiquan Brickyard have been selected as sites for settlement housing, and have been incorporated into the shanty town estate renovation project.

According to preliminary calculations, this three-year project needs a total investment of 9.26 billion yuan. Around 2.27 billion yuan of investment is planned for 2009.

At present, the housing relocation policy for the shanty town estate in Beijing’s Mentougou District is being formulated and will be announced in the near future.

Translated by LOTO