Tianjin authorities announced on Monday they will begin compensating and repairing the damaged vehicles of residents affected by the deadly warehouse explosions in August. [Special coverage]
Residents from the seven communities severely affected by the blasts have been asked to register their damaged vehicles from Monday to Wednesday. Tianjin authorities will authorize the People's Insurance Company of China (PICC) Property and Casualty Co Ltd to assess the damage, the Tianjin Binhai New Area announced on its official Sina Weibo on Monday.
An employee surnamed Li from the Financial Bureau in Binhai told the Global Times on Monday that the local government will coordinate the compensation and repair process.
"For parts not covered in the claims, the government will compensate the owners," said Li.
Li said that for vehicles not covered by insurance, the Binhai finance bureau will authorize the PICC to assess the damage, and the vehiclesmay get repaired in designated automobile shops for free.
Residents from other communities could also get their damaged vehicles registered at public security bureaus, according to Monday's announcement.
The deadly Tianjin blasts affected 17,000 households, and seven communities were severely damaged.
The number of vehicles damaged by the explosions was not revealed.
Tianjin authorities announced that 8,000 imported vehicles parked near the blast site worth an estimated 4 billion yuan ($625 million) were destroyed in the blasts. The compensation of these vehicles is not covered in the government's plan.
Tianjin Binhai New Area authorities also said on Monday that one station on the light railway Line 9 was so badly damaged that authorities decided to rebuild it.
According to the Xinhua News Agency, the blasts damaged the five-storey control center, a lab and a station on Line 9, and injured 30 people.
Light railway service between the downtown and Binhai was suspended because fire severely damaged the control center.
A Tianjin Rail Transit official was quoted by Xinhua as saying that experts designed a new station.
