Shanghai Mayor Han Zheng yesterday inspected the newly finished Expo Center and the construction sites of other Expo projects.

Han called on the city’s authorities to accelerate the constructions so that residents can benefit from these projects as soon as possible. He also stressed that undertakers should ensure the quality of the projects and at the same time strictly follow safety rules and standards.

Han and Shanghai Executive Vice Mayor Yang Xiong inspected the newly completed Expo Center. Praised as a "green low-carbon center," this permanent Expo building adopted a lot of advanced technologies that creatively achieved energy-saving, environment friendly and emission reduction goals.

During the Expo period, the center will be a place for hosting celebrations, holding meetings and receiving distinguished guests, such as visiting state heads. After the Expo 2010, the center will be a top-class international convention center.

Han inspected halls of the center, learned about the use of new technologies as well as new materials and asked about the preparation of the Expo Center’s operation.

Han called on the Expo organizer to summarize the “green and low-carbon” theory and practices which have been used during the construction of the Expo Center. The building should be a public model of environment friendly buildings, he said.

Han also inspected Metro Line 13's Expo Site Station. The station, which is a terminal of Line 13, will be used by many visitors to come to the Expo site. It is expected to handle 20,000 people per hour. Han required companies and authorities to improve their services to the visitors and keep safe operations.

Han also inspected road renovation projects, such as Pudong Rd S, Dongfang Rd, Inner Ring Rd, Yanggao S Rd, Chengshan Rd, Yuntai Rd, Shangnan Rd, Changqing Rd, the bridge of Linpu Rd over Chuanyang River, Longyao Rd Tunnel, Dapu Rd Tunnel, Zhizaoju Rd, Gaoxiong Rd, Waimalu Rd and the Bund tunnel.

He told the constructors to remember “safety first, quality top priority.” He also promised that Expo constructions will be finished as soon as possible to give roads back to the public.

Editor: Shen Li