Guangzhou plans to spend up to 200 billion yuan (HK$188 billion) on a 500km light rail network over the next 10 to 15 years, according to a blueprint released yesterday.
It is the first time that the city has outlined its light rail plans in such detail. Under the scheme, the network would extend beyond Guangzhou's borders to other cities including Nanhai, Shunde, Foshan and Jiangmen in the western delta and Dongguan in the east. It will not connect to Hong Kong or Shenzhen.
The blueprint was issued by the Guangzhou Subway Company and the Guangzhou Communications Planning Research Institute, a think-tank under the municipal planning bureau.
According to officials at Guangzhou Subway, which is responsible for building and running the city's evolving rail network, the 200 billion yuan figure is a high-end, long-term estimate based on underground construction costs of 400 million yuan per kilometre.
Guangzhou mayor and party secretary Lin Shusen recently said that the city would spend 40-50 billion yuan to build 200-250km of light-rail lines over the next five years.
He has repeatedly said his city will overtake Hong Kong and resume its historical position as southern China's greatest commercial and cultural centre.