World-class transport system suggested for Xiongan New Area

BEIJING - Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone near Beijing, should have a "world-class transport system" that is green and smart, a policy advisor said Wednesday.

Transportation in the new area should mainly focus on rail and bus transit options, complemented by bike-sharing and other "green, advanced and highly intelligent" transportation options, said Lu Huapu, from Tsinghua University and a member of the expert committee advising the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region (Jing-Jin-Ji).

Public transportation, parking, traffic management and logistics should all be supported by smart systems, Lu told Xinhua in an interview.

He also suggested smooth and easy transit between Xiongan and the metropolises of Beijing and Tianjin, saying this was essential to attracting high-level talent from those cities and key to the new area's development.

There should be "seamless connections" between Xiongan and the airports of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, Lu noted.

China announced plans to create Xiongan New Area on Saturday, which authorities described as a "major historic and strategic choice" that would be "crucial for the millennium to come."

The new area, some 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, is designed to advance coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and cure "urban ills" such as traffic congestion and air pollution in the capital.

Establishing Xiongan New Area will help with the ongoing drive to transfer "non-capital" functions out of Beijing, officials said.