China's social investment to total 18 trillion yuan in 2009
27/11/2008 16:28
China's total social investment is predicted to reach 18 trillion yuan
(US$2.64 trillion) in 2009, the National Development and Reform Committee
(NDRC), the country's top economic planner, announced in Beijing
today.
"China's total social investment exceeded 13 trillion yuan in 2007 and
is expected to top 16 trillion yuan this year," said NDRC head Zhang Ping. "The
4 trillion stimulus package is only part of the whole picture."
Zhang said
the central stimulus package was roughly divided into seven parts, with 1.8
trillion yuan going towards large-scale infrastructure projects such as
railways, roads, airports and the national grid.
Areas most affected by the
May 12 earthquake in the southwestern Sichuan Province will get 1 trillion yuan
for reconstruction.
The rest of the stimulus money will be spent on
affordable housing, rural welfare, infrastructure, medical and cultural
development, environmental protection and industrial restructuring.
Next
year's total social investment will have the same focus as the central plan,
which involves improving living standards and promoting rural development,
according to Zhang.
Media reports on Nov. 25 said 24 of China's 33 provinces
have issued local investment plans for the next two to five years, with the
southern Yunnan Province taking the lead by 3 trillion yuan planned for five
years.
The total figure was estimated to climb near 18 trillion yuan, almost
equal to the NDRC prediction for next year's social investment, arousing
concerns that the "investment rush" could lead to overlapping projects.
While
welcoming provincial governments' participation in boosting domestic demand,
Zhang said the NDRC would impose a strict review and approval procedure on all
projects submitted by local economic planners.
"Only those projects in
accordance with the national development plan will be considered," he
stressed.
The NDRC will give priority to local construction plans that focus
on industrial restructuring, raising living standards and environmental
improvement, according to Zhang.
"We will closely examine provincial projects
and make sure to stamp out potential duplication," Zhang added.
Xinhua
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