China has decided to relocate its national disease prevention and control
center from downtown Beijing to an outskirtan area in a bid to improve its
disease prevention capacity.
An official with the Planning Commission with the Beijing municipal
government said that Baishan Township in Changping District had been selected as
the site for the new center of disease control (CDC).
The Chinese central government made the decision to build a new CDC to house
the existing one, including 11 research institutes in Beijing's city proper,
said the official.
The officials further noted that the planned national CDC, which is expected
to cost 1.52 billion yuan (nearly 200 million US dollars), was designed to raise
the country's capacity to monitor and control contagious diseases and
non-contagious chronic diseases, and guard against and prevent biological and
chemical terrorist activities.
The new site will cover an area of 55 hectares with planned floor space
totaling 170,000 square meters.
Construction of the center is expected to be completed before 2008.
