More leisure space to be built along Huangpu

The project to redevelop the banks of the Huangpu River downtown continues apace, with plans to build three more marinas, according to a development plan unveiled by Shanghai’s Transportation Commission this week.

Some 45 kilometers of riverfront in Pudong and Puxi are being turned from derelict buildings and old maritime structures into public greenbelts with walkways, cycling paths and recreational areas to rival the Left Bank in Paris or the Thames Valley Parkway in London.

The marinas will be built in Xuhui District bordering the river.

The plan also calls for two new ferry routes, providing cyclists, pedestrians and commuters easier cross-river access. One route will link the Lupu Bridge and the Expo site; the other one will link the Qiantan area with the Xuhui riverside.

To provide more space for public amenities, 32 wharves used to service government patrol vessels will be removed, and two new docking areas for those boats will be built near the Yangpu and Xupu bridges.

When the new plan is fully implemented, the area of waterfront devoted to parkland, ferry terminals and marinas will increase to 90 percent from the current 70 percent, the commission said.