Shanghai's economy rebounded strongly in July and August after the SARS outbreak earlier this year, but the city still has lots of work to do to improve its traffic situation and power supply, Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng told a gathering of overseas reporters yesterday.

"In spite of the influence of SARS, Shanghai's GDP scored an increase of 11.7 percent for the period from January to August, compared to the same period last year," Han said.

"Both July and August saw a GDP increase of 12.5 percent compared to same period last year,'' he said. "At this speed, the city's GDP will unquestionably achieve a double-digit increase this year."

Foreign trade is also booming, the mayor said during a 90-minute meeting with about 40 overseas journalists.

Local ports handled 120 billion yuan (US$14.52 million) worth of exports and imports during the first eight months of this year, up 41 percent over the same period last year, Han said.

But the mayor did admit that the city still has its problems.

"As many people here can see, the traffic issue is dragging the city's economic development," Han said.

To solve the problem, commuters will be encouraged to take advantage of the city's public transportation system, while the use of bicycles or cars as a regular means of transportation should not be encouraged, he said.

"By 2010, Shanghai will have 11 metro lines covering 400 kilometers, a tremendous increase from the city's current three lines covering 65 kilometers," he said.

Power supply is also a major challenge, according to Han.

Shanghai has power generating capacity of 9.5 million kilowatts, but peak load demand this summer hit 13.6 million kw due to a record heat wave, Han said.

Out-of-town generators, mostly in eastern China, transferred a load of 4 million kilowatts into the city's power grid this summer.

"To make up the shortage, Shanghai itself is planning to add 8 million kw of capacity by the end of 2010," said Han.

He also told reporters that no officials from either the city government or Jing'an District government were ever connected with the case of Zhou Zhengyi, a local real estate tycoon recently arrested for running afoul of financial laws.

Zhou, 42, who was named Shanghai's richest person last year by Forbes magazine, is accused of using bank loans to invest in stocks and falsifying company documents.

(eastday.com September 25, 2003)