A Suspension bridge directly connecting Guangzhou's Tianhe District to the Panyu and Haizhu districts is due to be constructed for 300 million yuan (US million), the Guangzhou Daily reported Thursday.

The bridge, an integral part in the city's road system, was selected from several designs put forward after the project was launched last year.

The single-tower, self-anchoring suspension bridge will be a first for Guangzhou. The bridge will be anchored by a single 131 meter-high tower formed from two linked arches in a shell-like design, representing the "shell" of the Peal River.

Two sets of suspension lines will support a six-lane 742-meter roadway hanging over the Pearl River. The bridge will also have cycle lanes and a pedestrian walkway linking to the riverside promenade.

Now the final design has been approved and planning is underway for construction.

In another development, the 432-meter-high West Tower planned for Guangzhou's central business district has been given a completion date of 2009 and officials are determined that the project will not overrun.

When completed, the West Tower will be Guangdong's highest skyscraper and the centerpiece of the Guangzhou Pearl River New Town business district. The construction is expected to cost 6 billion yuan and local government officials have stressed that construction would only begin once funding has been guaranteed and strict completion deadlines imposed. Fines will be applied for any delays in construction caused by investment companies.

Another major construction project for Guangzhou is an innovative, non-polluting, underground cable car shuttle. Plans are now being put in place for the underground shuttle, which will run from the Guangzhou Sports Center to under the television tower on the south bank of the Pearl River. When completed, the project will use the latest non-polluting cable-car system to whisk shoppers from Tianhe District's commercial streets to the Guangzhou Opera House in a matter of minutes.

Editor: Yan