Major infrastructure projects seen as key to shoring up economy

Intensifying efforts in major infrastructure projects is a prudent move, and should be highlighted at the moment for China, as it is facing headwinds of insufficient domestic demand, especially with consumption momentum slowing down, experts said.

Citing the expansion of the nation's railway network and surge in related investment, Long Chaocan, an investment consultant covering infrastructure projects with China Galaxy Securities, said with fixed-asset investment being weighed down by a sluggish real estate sector, infrastructure investment — mostly initiated and led by the government — will boost economic efficiency by attracting investment from other sectors and drive up related industrial chains, which will help boost overall employment.

"Thanks to efforts in the sector, China boasts a well-developed infrastructure, which can simply be reflected by its strong logistics. There will be more and better returns from these efforts over the long term," Long said.

The national railway sector continued its rapid growth in terms of fixed-asset investment in the first eight months, with a total investment of 477.5 billion yuan ($67.3 billion), up 10.53 percent year-on-year, said China State Railway Group Co Ltd.

In August alone, investment reached 67.3 billion yuan, 10.87 percent higher than a year earlier, said the national railway operator, adding that the country's fixed asset investment in railways has sustained high-speed growth since the beginning of the year.

As a result, China saw a faster expansion in its railway network this year. The country's operational track length surpassed 160,000 kilometers, including over 46,000 km of high-speed railways, the national railway operator said on Saturday.

More track expansion is underway. According to China Railway 24th Bureau Group Corp, a unit of China Railway Construction Corp, construction of Jingkeqiao Avenue Station on the Xiaoshan-Ningbo Railway project progressed smoothly as another major milestone was achieved recently.

Employees completed the last cast-in-place beam of the main station building recently, CR24G said, adding that the project will be concluded by the end of the year on schedule, serving passengers, especially travelers visiting the Zhejiang province cities of Hangzhou, Shaoxing and Ningbo.

Apart from railway progress, expressway construction is also seen stepping up, with a focus on projects facilitating integrated regional development.

For example, China Railway 23rd Group Co Ltd, also a transportation infrastructure giant under CRCC, said it bored through Qingquan tunnels along Shuangdong Avenue in Deyang, Sichuan province, last week.

With an operational start date in June 2025, the project is labeled as a key transportation project to enhance links with Deyang and the provincial capital Chengdu.