China's recently announced economic stimulus package will largely be used for infrastructure construction. Related government departments are busy considering construction projects to ensure speedy implementation.

Our reporter Dan Dan has more.

Reporter:

A fifteen-billion-dollar investment from the central budget will be in place at the end of this year, the first batch of money to be allocated in the nation's 590-billion-dollar stimulus package. It will be largely devoted to infrastructure construction, including 5 billion dollars for rural infrastructure, nearly 4 billion for railway, highway and airport construction, and 1.5 billion to build low-rent housing.

Related government departments are working with local authorities to accelerate the process. Chinese Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin says his ministry has already outlined a number of projects, such as transforming shantytowns and building affordable housing.

"Next year, the central government will invest more in the construction of low-rent housing in central and western regions. We will also build more affordable housing."

Meanwhile, the Chinese Ministry of Railways is also trying to help. According to Wang Yongping, spokesperson for the ministry, the 2-billion-dollar investment will be in place by the end of this month to fund 25 key projects such as the construction of high-speed rail and coal transport lines.

Wang Yongping says 90 billion dollars will be used to build railways next year, which will generate domestic consumption and fuel economic growth.

"The investment will consume 20 million tons of steel and 120 million tons of cement, and generate some 60,000 jobs. It will also fuel the gross domestic product to rise by 1.5 percent."

Of the 590-billion-dollar package, 170 billion will come from the central government. Local governments will raise the rest through various channels.

Mu Hong, vice director of the National Development and Reform Commission, says the commission has outlined two measures to help local governments raise funds.

"We will raise the proportion of central government funds on a situational basis and reduce or exempt some of the funds that should be raised by local governments. The central government is also pondering allowing local governments to raise funds through loans or other approved means."

Mu Hong notes that the quality of these projects should be guaranteed, and calls on departments to enforce transparency while planning and examining projects to avoid possible degradation of quality. In the meantime, a joint inspection team has been established to monitor the use of funds.

Dan Dan, CRI News.