Beijing approves 5 more railway projects

The mainland has approved construction of five railway projects worth 152.7 billion yuan (HK$192.4 billion), the National Development and Reform Commission said, taking the number of railway projects approved since July to 21.

The economic planning agency said in statements posted on its website that it had approved five more railway projects in August and September, including three new railways running in Guangdong and Guangxi in the south, and Gansu, Shaanxi and the Ningxia Hui autonomous region in the northwest.

Before the latest announcements, made at the weekend, the NDRC announced last month that it had approved 16 railway projects from July to September, after China Railway Corp, the national rail operator, raised its investment target for the year to 800 billion yuan.

Xinhua reported earlier that China Railway had obtained approval for 64 rail projects planned for this year.

The NDRC has speeded up project approvals as part of Beijing's effort to stabilise the slowing economy through infrastructure investments. The value of investment in the 21 railway projects approved since July exceeds 840 billion yuan.

Gary Wong, an analyst at Guotai Junan Securities, said some of the railway investments approved by the end of this year might be implemented next year and he expected the huge outlays to continue into next year.