More than 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) will be spent on building underground networks in 28 cities, according to Gao Yucai, the head of the urban mass transit committee at China’s Communications and Transport association.

Under the current projections, China will build the equivalent of 250 Circle lines* by the end of the decade. [NOTE: The Circle line is the eighth busiest line on the London Underground (subway). It forms a loop line around the centre of London on the north side of the River Thames.]

Twelve Chinese cities already have metro systems up and running – and Shanghai went from a standing start to having a bigger network than the London Underground in just 15 years.

But creating metro systems has now become an important badge of progress even for lesser cities, such as Taiyuan, Urumqi and Shijiazhuang, many of whose residents are unsure about why billions of dollars of investment should be funneled underground.

“For local governments, having a metro really polishes the city’s image and illustrates the political achievements of its officials, even though all the metro lines currently in operation are losing money,” said Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing’s Jiaotong university.

“Of course, local governments will have to fund the projects, and they are already heavily in debt. The money will have to mostly come from bank loans,” he added.

More than 90 new lines have been rubber-stamped by China’s Reform and Development Commission, which oversees the country’s planning. And many smaller cities, including Dali, Haikou, Zhuzhou and Luoyang, are now in the process of submitting their own plans for approval.

Experts said even if there appeared little need for widespread metro systems now, China’s traffic problems would be a major issue in the years ahead. “Even the smaller cities are choked up with traffic,” said Xie Weida, a professor at Tongji university. “Urban rail is a good way to solve that.” “I am sure the local governments are not building subways just to improve their image, but also out of practical concerns. Our original plans never foresaw how many cars there would be on the roads, and there are ever increasing numbers of people moving to the cities.”

COLOMBIA – Colombians cheer killing of guerrilla kingpin

POPAYAN – Colombians rejoiced at the killing of top FARC rebel leader Alfonso Cano and hoped the biggest blow yet against Latin America’s longest insurgency could herald an end to nearly five decades of war.

In a triumph for President Juan Manuel Santos’ hardline security policy, officials said forces bombed a FARC jungle hide-out in the mountainous southwestern Cauca region.

Troops then rappelled down from helicopters to search the area, killing the widely hated Marxist rebel boss, his girlfriend and several other rebels in a gun battle on Friday. …

Nobody expected the death of Cano, 63, who had a $3.7 million bounty on his head, to spell a quick end to a war that has killed tens of thousands in the Andean nation.

Late on Saturday, the rebels vowed to fight on, saying in a statement on a website that often carries their messages that it was not the first time a top FARC leader had been killed.

But it will further damage the drug trade-funded rebels’ ability to coordinate high-profile bombings, ambushes and kidnappings that have brought them worldwide notoriety.

“It is the most devastating blow this group has suffered in its history,” Santos said, speaking at a military base in Popayan, a mountain town close to where Cano was killed.

“I want to send a message to each and every member of that organization: ‘Demobilize’ … or otherwise you will end up in a prison or in a tomb. We will achieve peace.”

……………..