According to an official investment guidebook released in Beijing on Tuesday China's central government has budgeted more than 50 billion yuan (US$6.25 billion) to finance rural construction and development this year. ?

 

The document released by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) explains that approximately 31 billion yuan (US$3.9 billion) would be used to support grain production, infrastructure development, education, sanitation, poverty alleviation and the development of grass-roots democracy. Over the past five years government financing of these types of projects reached 25 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) a year.

 

Investment in water supply facilities is budgeted at 4 billion yuan (US$500 million)--an increase of 100 percent from a year earlier. The central government is expected to spend 2.5 billion yuan (US$300 million) in the development of marsh gas projects which is an increase of 150 percent over the previous year.

 

Another 19 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion) has been budgeted for environmental protection, the development of large grain production bases and the country's off-shore fishing industry.

 

The document said the increased expenditure was designed to "shift the focus of the country's infrastructure construction to the rural areas."

 

According to the guidebook, better budget management and improved spending efficiency were high priorities.

 

Starting this year the commission will provide details on which sectors need capital support in rural China and make them public to better guide investment from local governments.

 

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2006)