(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-18 14:13

Construction on a new tunnel across the Huangpu River could force the relocation of at least some of the more than 50 wedding dress stores on Renmin Road, according to city officials.

While the city still hasn't announced final plans for the construction and relocation work, store managers are worried that they will have to find somewhere else to do business.

"We are still considering the plan," said Tang Zhiping, deputy director of the Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau. He did say, however, that some of the stores will probably be affected when construction begins later this year on the Renmin Road Tunnel.

The tunnel, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2010 World Expo, will link Renmin Road in Puxi with Dongchang Road in Pudong.

Renmin Road will have to be widened to make way for the tunnel entrance, which could force the dress shops to move.

The street has been known for its many wedding dress stores for more than 30 years and accounts for about 40 percent of the dresses sold in the city.

Several store managers expressed their disappointment with the impending move yesterday.

"We have created a good business environment here and it will take a long time to restore it if we are relocated," said a manager surnamed Zhang at a store called Yuanmeng.

The manager of the Lingmeng Wedding Dress Store said if a move must happen he hopes all the stores are relocated together to a new site so customers have an easy time finding their stores.

Late last year, dozens of stores from the city's biggest flowers market were relocated from Shaanxi Road to Caojiadu in the city's northwest.