  The conductance of disordered nano-wires at T=0 is calculated in one-particle
approximation by reducing the original multi-dimensional problem for an open
bounded system to a set of exactly one-dimensional non-Hermitian problems for
mode propagators. Regarding two-dimensional conductor as a limiting case of
three-dimensional disordered quantum waveguide, the metallic ground state is
shown to result from its multi-modeness. On thinning the waveguide (in
practice, e. g., by means of the ``pressing'' external electric field) the
electron system undergoes a continuous phase transition from metallic to
insulating state. The result predicted conform qualitatively to the observed
anomalies of the resistance of different planar electron and hole systems.
