Infrastructure growth soars for China in Q4

CHINA registered a brisk growth of infrastructure investment in the fourth quarter last year, Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.

Most listed construction companies in the infrastructure sector reported more new orders in the period, with PowerChina and the China Gezhouba Group Corporation seeing an order growth of above 60 percent.

Such growth came after the issuance of a guideline by the State Council last October on boosting the investment in nine kinds of infrastructure facilities including railways, highways and waterways, airports, water conservancy, energy and environmental protection as well as infrastructure conducive to agriculture and rural development.

Many provinces have unveiled infrastructure construction plans for this year, with Henan and Sichuan’s planned investment exceeding 3 trillion yuan (US$443 billion), according to the paper.

This year’s plans demonstrate the growing emphasis on investment in fields such as advanced manufacturing and modern services.

And many local authorities are encouraging private investment in construction projects.

Lian Ping, a chief economist at the Bank of Communications, said infrastructure investment still has great growth potential this year.

(Xinhua)