"We have finished the planning of three satellite cities in theeast part of Beijing so far," Chen Gang, the director of the Beijing's Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, was quoted as saying.

The cities are expected to hold 5.7 million people mostly dispelled from the city center, said Chen, instead of rural peopleand migrant population.

The average price of housing will be lower than in downtown areas, and each city will be facilitated with at least one good-quality hospital, a primary and a middle school and a scaled supermarket.

Transportation will be the government's first concern. Road density will be increased to six km per square kilometer, three times higher than that in the central district, and public transportation will account for more than 60 percent of the total,said Chen.

"Each new city will have at least one track linking to the central district," Chen was quoted as saying.

Beijing's general urban plan for 2004-2020, which was approved January 2005, requires city authorities to develop policies to decrease the population density, improve living conditions, and generally change old Beijing for the better.

The Municipal Commission of Urban Planning said that Beijing plans to build more government-subsidized housing in outlying districts along the subway lines, providing convenient and affordable residential developments.

Beijing has a population of 11.5 million. Enditem