Northwest Shaanxi province gets US$1.99b government injection

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

 ◆ Northwest Shaanxi province gets US$1.99b government injection

Shaanxi in backward Northwest China received 16.5 billion yuan (US$1.99 billion) in national debt last year to speed up its economic development.

The financial injection for the province was raised through the issuance of State treasury bonds.

"By the end of last year, Shaanxi received 16.5 billion yuan from the national debt which was used for 359 projects," said Hong Feng, director of Shaanxi Provincial Development Planning Commission.

The total investment in the projects is expected to be 73.2 billion yuan (US$8.82 billion), and by the end of last year, 47.4 billion yuan (US$5.71 billion) had been pumped into the projects, Hong said. National debt aside, the province also collected funds from various sources, including foreign capital and loans, the director said.

"The majority of the 359 projects involve the construction of infrastructures, including railways, roads, airports, power plants, telecommunication facilities, power-supplying equipment, water and natural gas works and other urban facilities," Hong said.

Investment in infrastructures contributed enormously to Shaanxi's gross domestic product (GDP) last year, when Shaanxi realized 184.12 billion yuan (US$22.18 billion), of which 85 billion yuan (US$10.24 billion) stemmed from construction on infrastructures, Hong said. This year, the director said the province will try to get even more money from the national debt in order to further its economic development.

"We have completed 65 per cent of investment in the 359 projects aided by the national debt, and we will finish the rest this year, so we have to collect more money," Hong said. This year, Shaanxi's GDP is expected to reach 201 billion yuan (US$24.22 billion), 9 per cent higher than last year.