Beijing Hyundai building school in quake-damaged Ludian county

To rebuild quake-stricken areas in Ludian county, Yunnan province, and offer educational aid for local children, Beijing Hyundai Motor Co Ltd has announced plans to build a Project Hope Primary School.

The Beijing Hyundai Project Hope Primary School is due to be completed and put into operation by 2015, providing new school facilities for hundreds of students, according to the automaker.

The company, which is a 50-50 joint venture between South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co Ltd, has donated 3 million yuan ($490,100) to facilitate the rebuilding and reconstruction of the quake-stricken areas and to support education in the post-quake period through the China Youth Development Foundation.

The foundation, a national public foundation, has offered the extensive, influential and widely subscribed Project Hope philanthropic programs in China since 1989.

As of last year, Project Hope has raised 9.7 billion yuan, helped more than 4.9 million financially challenged rural students and built 18,335 Project Hope primary schools and about 20,604 mini libraries.

A 6.5-magnitude quake struck Ludian county in Yunnan province on Aug 3, resulting in at least 615 deaths.

The launch of the new school project has been in conjunction with the completion of the 6 millionth vehicle produced by Beijing Hyundai in its 12 years development in the capital.

Based in Shunyi district, Beijing Hyundai has three factories, with production capacity of 1 million vehicles each year.

China is a golden market for Hyundai, which has been grappling with lackluster sales in the United States and Europe.

The Asian giant was the biggest market for Hyundai and its affiliate Kia last year, which saw their combined sales jump 18 percent to 1.58 million vehicles.

Sales are expected rise 8 percent to 1.7 million vehicles this year as the new Kia plant comes online.

Hyundai also plans to start production at a new commercial car plant in Southwest China's Sichuan province this year.

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