(Yicai Global) Aug.15 -- Regional integrationis gathering pacein the Yangtze River Delta, one ofChina'smost economicallyadvanced regions. Suzhou, capital of Jiangsu province, and Jiaxing in neighboring Zhejiang province--bothin closeproximity to Shanghai--have been mulling building rail lines connecting them with the regional centerin recent years tofurtherregional economic integration.

China's State-Owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commissiongave the nodyesterdaytoSuzhou's five-year urban rail transit construction plan, which proposes four rail transport projectsofCNY95 billion(USD13.75 billion)betweenthis yearand 2023.Construction ofLine S1whichdirectlylinksKunshan, a county-level city in Suzhou, withLine11of theShanghaiMetrowill begin by year's end.

The relationship between Kunshan and Shanghai's Jiading, Qingpu and Songjiang districts isbothcompetitiveand cooperative, Wang Zhen, vice president of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences and head of the Shanghai Institute of Information Research, told Yicai Global.Localauthoritieswillcurbadministrative intervention and build better transport facilities and anenvironment to boostregionalmacro-level industry transformation and upgrade.

Jiaxingformeda municipal rail transit investment anddevelopment company on Aug. 10, andhas likewise proposedseveral rail lines to Shanghai. The company is working on the Jiaxing-Songjiang line, for which initial preparations for construction will complete by 2020,asitstop priority for current operations.

Editor: Ben Armour