Beijing to develop southern districts

The Beijing Municipal government has laid out a scheme to boost development in the city's five southern districts.

The plan calls for investing nearly 300 billion yuan in construction over three years. These five districts--Xuanwu, Chongwen, Fengtai, Daxing and Fangshan-- make up a fifth of the city area. Their combined GDP accounts for 13 percent of city's total.

Beijing has set up a series of preferential policies to attract social investment, including the relaxation of entry standards for some governmental monopoly sectors, and also raising profit standards for enterprises involved in the reconstruction.