Beijing may be on the brink of defeating SARS but civic leaders are already preparing for the next battle -- putting economic development back on track.

The SARS outbreak had slashed 2.4 billion yuan (US$290 million) off the city's overall economic volume by the end of last month.

And the economic growth rate was cut by 1.8 per cent, according to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development Planning.

The beleaguered city still witnessed a double-digit growth rate -- 10.4 per cent -- of gross domestic product (GDP) between January and May compared with the same period last year.

The city's GDP recorded 120.4 billion yuan (US$14.6 billion) during the first five months this year, said Lu Yingchuan, an official with the commission.

He said fixed asset investment -- a rough gauge of government spending on projects like metro lines and sports venues -- would lead the economy out of the doldrums.

Social fixed asset investment reached nearly 51 billion yuan (US$6.2 billion) between January and May -- a rise of 13.2 per cent on the same period last year. This is 5.1 per cent higher than January-April this year.

The city government adjusted the deadlines of 60 big engineering projects to cushion the economic fallout from the SARS outbreak. Four metro lines will start construction soon, with a total length of more than 80 kilometres.

Foreign trade also helped offset the adverse impact of SARS on economic development, said Lu.

The city enjoyed US$2.7 billion of exports during the first five months -- a rise of 35.1 per cent on the same period last year. Imports recorded US$4.1 billion, increasing 44 per cent.

The city has received US$840 million in foreign direct investment between January and last month -- a rise of 9.5 per cent.

A total of 562 foreign invested enterprises won approval to set up in Beijing in the first five months, increasing 22.7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Bai Yunsheng, another official with the commission, said his commission had introduced a quick examination and approval channel for fixed asset investment projects to ensure a rise in investment.

The commission and other authorities, such as environmental protection and urban planning departments, will streamline and speed up their approval procedures.

Bai said the relevant authorities will join together to deal with projects instead of independently as before.

A total of 415 projects have been filed with the development planning commission. Bai said his commission and other authorities would select the first batch of projects for approval soon.

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