Shenzhen authorities will dismantle illegal outdoor ads in major business areas, along main roads and expressways, and from buildings near the airport, railway stations and seaports by the end of the year in an effort to improve the city's appearance, vice mayor Lu Ruifeng said at an urban management meeting yesterday.

The campaign will target outdoor billboard advertisements especially along Shennan Thoroughfare, along the expressway leading to the airport, and in downtown Huaqiangbei and Renminnan areas.

The vice major also set a timetable and ordered all illegal outdoor advertisements - some of them major eyesores - to be cleared from sight by June next year. Lu said that all outdoor advertisements will be standardized and look pleasing by then.

The campaign will also ensure that outdoor billboards pose no safety hazards.

Illegal ads in public areas will be dismantled immediately, while those not in public areas and in accordance with outdoor ad standards can be retained after getting registered, Lu said.

Meanwhile, the vice mayor announced that the government will offer subsidies for up to 80 percent of the electricity fees incurred by illuminating the buildings along Nanhai Thoroughfare, Shennan Thoroughfare, Wenjin Road, Shangbu Road, and near the Nantou Checkpoint, the high-tech park, Overseas Chinese Town, Zhuzilin, the CBD area, Huaqiangbei, Caiwuwei and Renminnan.

"Three years of efforts will present locals with a bright new Shennan Thoroughfare and the city's skyline," Lu said.

Editor: Yan