China will spend 165 billion yuan (US$21 billion; euro16 billion) on 12 industrial projects
China will spend 165 billion yuan (US$21 billion; euro16 billion) on 12 industrial projects, including railways and hydropower stations, to develop its poor west, state media said Monday.
The communist government has made a priority of spreading China's export-fueled prosperity to areas that have missed out on its economic boom. In the west, Chinese leaders hope development will diffuse demands by restive Muslims and other ethnic minorities for autonomy.
The latest projects also include airports, high-tech industry and education, newspapers and the official Xinhua News Agency said.
According to news reports, the projects announced by the Cabinet's National Development and Reform Commission include:
A railway linking the central city of Taiyuan with Zhongwei, a city in the poor northwestern region of Ningxia.
A series of airports and highways in smaller cities.
Coal mines in Ningxia and the northern region of Inner Mongolia.
Three hydropower stations and a reservoir.
Mineral-processing projects in Inner Mongolia, the southwestern province of Sichuan and the Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.
The Chinese government spent some 1 trillion yuan (US$125 billion; euro100 billion) from 2000-2005 on industrial projects in western China, the news reports said.
