Construction on a light rapid transit rail line connecting Beijing's downtown and the city's eastern economic-technological development areas will start this year and is expected to be complete by 2010, the Beijing Morning Post reports Saturday.

The 23.8 km Yizhuang light rail line will begin at the Songjiazhuang station on the No. 5 subway line and end at the Yizhuang Railway Station in the eastern Yizhuang development area, according to the management committee of Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area.

There will be 14 stations along the light rail line, eight aboveground and six underground.

"The light rail will run through the Yizhuang development area and four other districts in eastern and southern Beijing, providing a rapid transit system for the area," said Zhang Boxu, director of the committee. "It will help boost the development of the eastern area as well as ease the traffic pressure on Beijing's historic downtown."

The Beijing municipal government has approved a blueprint for the development of Yizhuang New Town, which will cover 100 sq km and provide homes for 700,000 people.

The Yizhuang New Town, a booming economic and industrial zone, plays an important role in developing of the eastern outskirts of Beijing and is expected to became a high-tech industrial center.