China's Guangdong to invest $126 bn in infrastructure

BEIJING: China's southern economic powerhouse, Guangdong province, is expected to further invest $126 billion (775.1 billion yuan) to improve its transportation infrastructure by 2016, an official has said.

The investment will cover 89 new projects, which include highways and inter-city railways, said Cai Muling, deputy director of the provincial development and reform commission, the provincial economic planning body.

About 62 per cent of the investment will come from market financing, including bank loans, trust investment, medium-term notes and private capital, Cai was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.

According to the province's 12th five-year plan (2011-2015), total investment in transportation infrastructure will hit 1.9 trillion yuan in the five-year period.

The investment realized in 2011 and 2012 stood at just 251.4 billion yuan, far below the target.

A provincial government plan released in April stated that Guangdong is expected to have 4,100 km of railways and 6,800 km of expressways in operation by the end of 2015.

Guangdong leads the country in terms of economic development.