A nursing room at the Austrian Park Plaza in Panyu district, Guangzhou. [Photo/ dayoo.com]

Guangzhou's Panyu district has set out plans to build more public nursing rooms in the next three years, according to a report released recently.

In early 2016, the central government adopted a universal two-child policy, making some 90 million couple eligible to have a second child. As a result, the government expects there to be a greater need for nursing rooms where mothers are able to breast feed and attend to their babies in privacy when out in public.

Last year, several new nursing rooms were built in Panyu district -- at Lingnan Impression, Panyu Children's Park, AEON Mall, and Wanda Plaza. However, supply is not yet meeting demand, and some of the new nursing rooms have drawn criticism for lacking useful facilities.

According to the new plan, Panyu will refurbish existing nursing rooms and equip them with standardized facilities, as well as building 120 new ones.

The construction will be carried out in three phases, with the first phase seeing the construction of 20 standard nursing rooms at various sites this year, five of which are exemplary ones.

In 2018, the government will build 60 standard nursing rooms and 10 exemplary ones. 

The plan is expected to be carried out in its entirety by the end of 2019.