Beijing will introduce a bidding system for the design, construction and management of its subway projects to allow participation by prominent firms around the world, Beijing Mayor Liu Qi said Wednesday.

He made this remark during his meeting with the executive vice-president of Canadian SNC-Lavalin Inc., Robert Tribe, who is currently in Beijing to sign a letter of intent to involve in the construction of the No.5 subway line.

The mayor disclosed that his city will build some 150 km of subway lines in the coming six years, three times the total lengthbuilt in the city over the past 37 years.

According to the mayor, JP Morgan Chase Bank has promised to finance the construction of the No.4 and No.5 subway lines and a remarkable sum of money will arrive by the end of this year.

( People's Daily June 14, 2002)