(Yicai Global) Aug. 29 --Shenzhen will keepup its efforts to build up itsrail transit network in coming decades to33 subway routes withatotal mileage of 1,335 kilometers, about five times today'soperational track length.

Shenzhen Metro Group, the constructor and operator ofthe city'smetro lines,recently announced this newsas it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Shenzhen Metro now runs seven subway routes with an overallexpanse of 265 kilometers, witha further 273 kmunder construction. Beijing and Shanghai lead the pack in China withtotal operating subway mileage topping 600 kilometers, but the southern city adjacent to Hong Kong is hard on their heels.

Shenzhen is still undergoing a rapid population rise, and expansion of the subway network can not only alleviate the traffic pressure, but will also help cut back on vehicle emissions andnoise and other pollution, whileenhancingtransport efficiency, Wang Guowen, director of the Center for Logistics and Supply Chain Management of the Shenzhen-based government think-tank China Development Institute, told Yicai Global.

The booming tech and commercial hubis already at the limit of its breakneck expansion and is beset byan extreme scarcity ofland resources, so the construction of subway routes willalso fosterdevelopment of underground commercial spaces, Wang added.

As tothe impact of subway construction on the local real estate market, "Metro construction willdrive up housing priceson the city's fringes,"He Qianru, director of national research center of Hong Kong'sMidland Realty,told Yicai Global. "As the number of subway routes grows, the price gap within and without the main city area will narrow, but prices areless likely to even out,"He added.

"Shenzhen is financially well-positioned to support the enormous rail transit system," Wang noted, referringto funding sources for the massive construction plan.Government investmentmainly financedprevious metro construction in the city, but "the subway represents a public goods program with returns, but it is not totally public benefit, so multiple innovative investment models are suitable, Wangsaid.

The simultaneous implementation ofmore programs renders resort toPPP and other modes and mechanismsmore viable,"he added.

Editor: Ben Armour