China's post-earthquake reconstruction work will take 3 years, said Li Chengyun, vice governor of Sichuan?on Friday.

Li told a press conference in Beijing that the provincial government planned to build new villages, townships and cities in the quake-ravaged province in those three years.

He said infrastructure facilities in eight mountainous counties worst hit in the earthquake were destroyed.

"The rebuilding work would face a lot of difficulty in the region, where the mountains have been shaken loose in the earthquake and more than 7,000 aftershocks," said the official at the press conference held by the Information Office of the State Council.

"The priority work in the reconstruction is to find proper locations for rural residents to build houses. We will strive to make such village houses ready for them before winter comes," said Li.

He emphasized that the reconstruction planning should be carried out after a thorough survey on the damage in the earthquake.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)