(BEIJING, October 16) -- Beijing plans to construct six new subway lines by 2012 with a total length of 152km, the Beijing Youth Daily reported on Tuesday.

When the lines are completed, the capital's subway will be able to handle 8 million passengers daily or some 23 percent of the total passengers, up from the current 1.6 million a day.

The construction site planning permit has been issued for the six lines, allowing the start of the house removal procedure, the paper quoted the Beijing Municipal Planning Commission as saying.

For 2007, the city plans to start the construction of four lines, namely the sixth, eighth, ninth and tenth lines, and strives to start another two – the Yizhuang line and Daxing line, the paper said.

Beijing inaugurated the fifth subway line this month, a 27km straight line from south to north bringing the city's total subway mileage to 141km.