Construction of a light rapid transit rail line connecting Beijing's downtown and the city's eastern economic-technological development area will start by the end of this year and is expected to be completed by 2010, a local government official said on Wednesday.

The 23.8 km Yizhuang light rail line will begin at the Songjiazhuang station on the No. 5 subway line and end at the Yizhuang Railway Station in the eastern Yizhuang development area, according to Yuan Lihong, director of city planning bureau under the management committee of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area.

Fourteen stations, eight above ground and six underground, will be built along the light rail line.

The light rail will run through the Yizhuang development area and four other districts in eastern and southern Beijing, providing a rapid transit system for the area, said Yuan.

It will help boost the development of the eastern area as well as ease the traffic pressure on Beijing's historic downtown, he said.

The Beijing municipal government has approved a blueprint for the development of Yizhuang New Town, which will cover 100 sq km and provide homes for 700,000 people.

The Yizhuang New Town, a booming economic and industrial zone, plays an important role in developing the eastern outskirts of Beijing and is expected to became a high-tech industrial center.

(Xinhua News Agency November 1, 2007)