Beijing to add 110,000 parking spaces

BEIJING - Beijing is planning to add 110,000 parking lots in downtown by the end of 2013 in a bid to accommodate its 5 millon cars, the Beijing Morning Post reported Saturday.

The national capital city is short of about 3 million parking lots, as it has only 2.48 million parking spaces for 5 million vehicles, according to the 2011 Development Report for Chinese cities.

To encourage the building of parking spaces, Beijing offers a one-off sum of 2,000 yuan ($314) for each parking lot built in new residential quarters, the report said, citing the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport (BMCT).

By September this year, about 9,000 parking spaces will be built in 68 downtown residential communities, BMCT said in a notice posted on its website on July 4.

Roads in Beijing are overloaded with cars. Car owners often find it difficult to find a place for their vehicle and have to park their cars on pavement or along the road side.

Authorities in Beijing has tried to put the brakes on the number of new vehicles. In 2011, the city began to distribute car plates by a lottery system, limiting the number of new cars to 240,000 each year.