On July 31 Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang today presided over an executive meeting of the State Council, studying how to purchase more public services from social organizations and ramp up the construction of high-quality infrastructure in Chinese cities.

According to the meeting, to provide better public services and focus on improvement of the facilities with poor management caters for people's needs. It will boost effective investment and consumption and to improve the quality of the country's new types of urbanization that pivot around people's livelihoods. Based on the principle of making plan first, and starting construction later and beginning with underground facilities followed by overground ones, the government will also let the market play a better role while guaranteeing government investment and carrying out non-operational, purely public projects. Various investment entities will be treated on an equal footing and private capital be attracted to enter operational projects by means of franchise, investment subsidy and government purchase. This will help improve the weak points of urban infrastructure, particularly those for rebuilding shantytowns and will help unleash huge market demand.

The meeting set forth the following priorities. First, strengthening construction and revamping of networks of underground pipes, improving urban water supply facilities and building up the capacity for water-logging prevention. Second, cementing sewage and household refuse treatment and recycling facilities. By the end of the 12th Five-year Plan period,urban sewage treatment ratio and the ratio of sound disposal of domestic refuse will reach 85% and 90% respectively. Third, reinforcing gas pipe and heating system renovations. By 2015, we will complete renovation of 80,000 km gas pipes for urban areas and nearly 100,000 km of old pipelines for central heating in North China. Fourth, strengthening construction of large capacity public transport system like subway and metro and enhancing the connectivity, accessibility and convenience of urban road network. We will accelerate the construction of green pathway for pedestrians and bicycles in cities across China. Fifth, strengthening power grid construction and promoting intelligent power grid. Sixth, we will make more effort to build ecosystem and make urban green space more capable of storing flood, controlling water-logging and replenishing groundwater.