XI'AN: Facilities in the city are to be boosted with a 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) investment in a bid to boost infrastructure this year.

Local authorities are responding to a string of complaints from tourists and residents about sub-standard facilities in Xi'an, which has become a major tourist destination since the discovery of the Terracotta Army in the 1970s.

Jiangsu Province tourist Liu Muqing said simple conveniences like public toilets were missing in the Shaanxi Province capital.

Liu's was one of hundreds of complaints received by the local government every year.

Director of Xi'an Urban and Rural Construction Committee Shi Jiansheng said Xi'an had progressively increased spending on the city's infrastructure since 2001, when the figure was 1.6 billion yuan (US$192 million). By 2004, this had increased almost eight-fold to 8.2 billion (US$987 million), the director said.

Under this year's urban construction plan, 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) will be spent mainly on 82 projects, including road construction, buildings renovation, water drainage, heating, and water and gas supplies.

"We will use 3.06 billion yuan (US$367 million) for 24 road projects, including a special highway for tourist routes linking the urban area to the Terracotta Warriors and Horse Museum in the city's eastern Lintong District," the director said.

Auxiliary facilities will be designed to meet the requirements of the city's long-term urban plan stretching 20 years to 2025, when the local government's jurisdiction will be expanded to outside the downtown area to protect ancient buildings, relics and ruins, Shi said.

Xi'an was the Chinese capital for eleven successive dynasties, and is one of the country's most famous ancient cities with a history of more than 2,000 years. The city centre is surrounded by the 600-year old city wall and many ancient treasures.