Five railway projects worth $30b given green light

A Shanghai-Hangzhou high-speed intercity train pulls out of the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station in Shanghai, Oct 26, 2010. [Photo/VCG]

The top economic planner has approved five railway projects with a total investment of close to 200 billion yuan ($29.23 billion) so far this month, China Business News reported.

The Ganshen railway, with a total investment of 64.13 billion yuan, connects Ganzhou city of Jiangxi province and Shenzhen city of Guangdong province. The project, with a total length of 432 kilometers and 14 stations, is expected to complete in 2020.

The National Development and Reform Commission also approved the Beijing-Tangshan intercity railway, a key part of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei intercity rail transit network. The 148.7-kilometer rail link has a total investment of 44.9 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, another three approved projects, Zhangjiajie-Jishou-Huaihua railway, Mudanjiang-Jiamusi railway and a new freight rail line, Shenmu North (Hongliulin) - Fengjiachun section of the Shenwa railway, involved an investment of 38.24 billion yuan, 38.56 billion yuan and 8.75 billion yuan respectively.

The above-mentioned five rail projects have a total value of 194.58 billion yuan, the newspaper said.

The government has sought ways to increase investment in infrastructure projects in a bid to shore up the economy.

The National Development and Reform Commission approved 15 fixed-asset investment projects with total investment reaching 218.8 billion yuan in October, official data showed Friday.

The projects cover transportation and energy, said Li Pumin, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, during a news conference.

China's fixed-asset investment in the first nine months grew 8.2 percent year on year, slightly up from the 8.1 percent registered during the January-August period, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

Xinhua contributed to this story.