The municipal government of China's business hub is planning to build more and cleaner food markets and increase the number of public conveniences available to residents, according to information released at a press conference yesterday.

By 2020, Shanghai will be home to 1,200 new and upgraded markets. Each will be under cover to ensure cleanliness, have parking facilities and be designed to save land.

The ultimate goal, said the Shanghai Municipal Urban Planning Bureau yesterday, is to have a food market within 500 metres of every Shanghai neighbourhood.

The city currently has 914 wet, or farm produce, markets where fresh food is available cheaper than at many of the city's supermarkets. But with hygiene being an increasing concern, the local government is looking to push out the old and welcome new, cleaner markets.

The new food markets will be no more than three storeys high. Twenty per cent of their area will be set aside for parking, while existing markets will be renovated so that up to 15 per cent of their current land area will be made available for parking.

The city is also looking to increase the number of public toilets available to residents, especially to those living in heavily populated areas.

"In commercial areas where tourists and shoppers flock, people should be able to find a toilet within 300 metres, or about three minutes walk," said Yu Sijia, a bureau engineer.

"In the residential areas outside the Inner Ring Road, walking time to a public toilet should not be beyond eight minutes."

Yu said Shanghai now has an average 2.22 public toilets for every 10,000 residents, lower than the national average of 3.18, with the result that in Pudong or places beyond the downtown Puxi area, it is often difficult to find a toilet.

Toilet signs will also be standardized across the city to make the public conveniences not only more accessible, but also recognizable.

Bureau official Tang Zhiping said public hearings on both subjects still need to be held before final approval of the schemes.

(China Daily August 31, 2005)