Beijing, one of Asia’s most congested cities, is destined to become even more gridlocked with state media saying Tuesday the number of cars was forecast to more than double to five million by 2020, according to an AFP report.
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The prediction, up from 2.35 million at present, is based on the premise that virtually every family in the city of 14 million people will own a car in 15 years’ time, the China Daily reported.
Beijing’s traffic chaos is a growing concern as the city prepares to host the Olympics in 2008, the AFP report noted.
The municipal government has made clear that it will do nothing to prevent car ownership from expanding, as auto sales are among the most important drivers of growth in a modern urban economy.
Instead it will continue to pour huge sums of money into infrastructure such as highways, parking lots, subways and bus lines, AFP said.
