China’s central government said it will invest more than US$100 billion in 23 new infrastructure projects in the underdeveloped western regions of the country, aiming to boost domestic demand, state media reported. Construction will start this year to "actively expand domestic demand and promote the fast and healthy development of the western areas," the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said. The planned projects include railways, roads, airports, coal mines, nuclear power stations and power grids with Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan earmarked as the locations for the investment drive. President Hu Jintao said that the next decade will be a key period for further developing the west of the country and that despite some progress, the region still lags behind the eastern provinces.
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