Shanghai will expand its efforts to make public buildings and facilities more accessible to the disabled next year, government officials announced at a meeting of leaders from 12 cities yesterday.

About 25,000 public sites in the city will be renovated to include wheelchair ramps and other furnishings by the end of 2006, the government announced at the one-day seminar in Shanghai.

"As barrier-free facilities not only help disabled people but the aged and sick as well, massive construction is needed," said Huang Jianzhi, vice director of the Shanghai Construction Management Commission.

Large-scale construction will begin next year, with the major focus on facilities closely related to disabled people's daily lives - such as public toilets, banks and post offices.

The project is expected to cost about 500 million yuan (about US$60 million) with the government picking up about 60 percent of the tab, city officials said. The rest of the cost will be covered by corporate sponsors.

According to new legislation issued this year, all new buildings in Shanghai should include wheelchair ramps.

Currently, there are 3,119 wheelchair-accessible buildings in the city, and 113 kilometers of special sidewalks for the blind. Some 162 public sites have been renovated to become more accessible this year, about 74 percent of the govern-ment's target for 2003.

While a lot of work has been done, many problems still exist, said Huang.

He said that since construction of sidewalks for the disabled is managed by individual districts instead of the city government, there is no unified network.

The sidewalks - raised paths that are kept clear of obstructions to help the blind - often don't connect to one another, making it impossible to walk along them for long distances, the official said.

"I always bump into unexpected obstacles on the special sidewalk, such as bicycles parked randomly or stands set by the local vendors," said Jin Wei, a local blind man.

While setting up obstructions on the sidewalks is punishable with a fine of up to 5,000 yuan, it's rarely enforced.

Many other facilities for the disabled are not built in line with international standards.

"The slope and building materials of our wheelchair ramps vary in different places. Without a unified standard, steep slopes and slippery surfaces can make them almost no help to the handicapped at all," Huang said yesterday.

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