Expo-linked building boom sparks concern

In the eight years leading up to the World Expo, Shanghai has been a hive of activity, with armies of labourers working flat out to complete a series of massive infrastructure projects.

The city's underground network has more than doubled in size, its second airport has been given an enormous new terminal and integrated rail hub, elevated ring roads now loop the metropolis' eastern fringes, and a high-speed rail network is soon to put Shanghai within an hour's travel of any population centre in the Yangtze River Delta.

The unprecedented build-up of infrastructure was largely timed to coincide with the expo's opening, giving rise to speculation that this is the most expensive world fair in history and also causing concern that the rapid expansion could come at the expense of quality.

A China Central Television news report in February put the total cost of expo-related construction in Shanghai at 400 billion yuan (HK$455 billion). The report cited unnamed departments as the source of the estimate, but city officials have since been falling over each other to deny rumours of such levels of largesse.

At a press conference last month, permanent deputy mayor Yang Xiong said such speculation was groundless. 'I don't know where that 400 billion yuan figure comes from. I suppose if you added up all the various infrastructure projects in the city, you would get a large figure,' he said. 'But these projects are not being done specifically for the expo. These are essential projects to upgrade the city.

'Shanghai has a population of some 20 million people. In terms of area, it is bigger than London or New York. It is a very large and complicated city to run. Even if there was no expo, we would still need to extend the metro, build roads and construct the Hongqiao International Airport extension.'