[photopress:railwayexpansion.jpg,full,alignright]China will invest RMB1.5 trillion ($190 billion) to increase the nation’s rail network to over 90,000 kilometers by 2010.
Li Guoyong, transportation director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at the China Railway Financing Forum, ‘We will invest RMB300 billion yuan ($38 billion) in railway construction next year.’ This will increase the size of China’s rail network by almost 20 per cent.
The full investment includes RMB250 billion ($31.6 billion) for vehicle purchasing, over RMB600 billion ($76 billion) for railway lines and over RMB625 billion ($79 billion) for civil engineering.
China’s 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) states that solving hardware problems, such as the network and machinery, are the core issues for the development of the nation’s railways.
Long Hua, an analyst from Industrial Securities, said, ‘The transportation turnover rate for railways will double with the completion of main trunk lines in 2010. The railway industry’s boom is expected to last over 10 years.’
Source: China Daily