CHINA is accelerating 300 infrastructure projects valued at 7 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) this year, as policymakers seek to shore up growth that’s in danger of slipping below 7 percent.
Premier Li Keqiang’s government approved the projects as part of a broader 400-venture, 10-trillion-yuan plan to run from late 2014 through 2016, said people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as the decision wasn’t public
“It’s part of China’s efforts to stabilize growth, and the news will help to boost market confidence,” said Julia Wang, a Hong Kong-based economist with HSBC Holdings Plc. “Infrastructure investment will continue to be a major driver for China’s economic growth.”
The approvals contrast with past moves to boost growth via infrastructure in which the government gave the green-light to projects individually. They are part of efforts to respond to weak output, according to the people.
The Economic Observer newspaper reported last December 26 on its web site that an official from the NDRC’s Zhejiang provincial bureau said the government had approved more than 420 infrastructure projects needing investment of more than 10 trillion yuan.
Rail investments may exceed 1.1 trillion yuan this year as investments in the previous four years lagged behind the five- year plan for 2011 to 2015, Han Siyi, an analyst at Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, said at a conference in Shanghai on Tuesday.
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