BEIJING, Apr 11 (GCTL) - China's national railway operator will raise its annual investment by 20 billion yuan (US$3.23 billion) to 720 billion yuan in 2014 to increase the number of lines it plans to build, the head of the company said in remarks published on Wednesday.
Sheng Guangzu, general manager of China Railway Corp, was quoted by the official People's Daily as saying that the company is targetting starting construction of 48 railway projects this year, up from 44 projects in its previous plan.
Increased construction of railway lines is one of the measures the government has recently announced to boost economic growth, which is rising at its slowest rate in at a least a decade as the country moves towards consumption-driven growth. "Quickening the construction of railway lines could increase the effective demand for steel products, cement and other building materials and help tackle overcapacity problems," Sheng was quoted as saying.