Chinese officials have expressed their readiness to offer more support for the development of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region.

State Development and Reform Commission Vice Minister Liu Jiang said at the opening of the First Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum in Hong Kong Tuesday that regional development plans would be given priority in drafting the nation's next five-year plan.

He said that the central government would support the construction and administration of land ports and help to accelerate the construction of large infrastructure projects.

Wang Zhaocheng, vice minister of railways, said that Pan-Pearl River Region railway development will center on increasing passenger transportation capacity and constructing trans-city lines.

New lines to be built will include those linking Guangdong with China's central and northern regions; the southeast coastal provinces and the Yangtze delta region; and those between southwestern and eastern China. The Pearl River regional Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Guangzhou-Zhuhai lines will be built by 2010, said Wang.

Minister of Communications Zhang Chunxian said his ministry has drafted a plan to build 22 expressways with a total length of 30,000 kilometers in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region. The plan is part of the effort to extend and consolidate Hong Kong's role as an international shipping and logistics center. He added that nine the 20 major ports scheduled to be built nationwide are in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region.

Sun Gang, vice director of the National Tourism Administration, suggested closer cooperation within the region's tourism industry to enhance the competitiveness of the regional market.

The Pan-Pearl River Delta Region includes provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

The three-day forum will continue in Macao and Guangzhou.

(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2004)