China railway ministry to boost investment

China's Ministry of Railways plans to further increase its total investment this year to 630 billion yuan ($101.73 billion).

The ministry will issue the sixth round of railway construction bonds worth 25 billion yuan on Friday.

For the first nine months of the year, the ministry's fixed-asset investment was at 344.16 billion yuan, down 13 percent year-on-year, data from the ministry showed.

To complete the renewed investment plan, the ministry has to invest nearly 300 billion yuan in the last quarter, which is almost the total value invested from January to September.

The ministry's fixed-asset investment was mainly contributed by railway construction. Among its fixed-asset investment of 344.16 billion yuan for the first nine months, railway infrastructure investment was 292.06 billion yuan, down 15.8 percent from a year earlier.

This is not the first time that the government boosts railway investment plans this year, amid the ongoing economic slowdown. In July, the ministry increased its 2012 railway construction investment plan to 448.3 billion yuan, from 411.3 billion yuan.

baochang@chinadaily.com.cn