In late March 2014, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s main economic planning agency, recently announced that it has approved five railway construction projects with total investment pegged at 142.4 billion yuan (US$22.85 billion), despite a number of controversies surrounding the country’s levels of local government debt and construction plans. The five approved railway routes are Hongliuhe to Naomaohu in Xinjiang, Harbin to Mudanjiang and Harbin to Jiamusi, both in Heilongjiang, Qingdao to Lianyungang and Hangzhou to Huangshan.

Workers on a new line in Xinjiang county, Shanxi province, Feb. 28, 2014. (File photo/Xinhua)

An analyst at China International Capital Corporation told Shanghai’s China Business News that the government’s urbanization drive will benefit from railways connecting cities with populations of at least 200,000 with high-speed rail networks for cities of over 500,000 people, which will ensure that the railway sector receives stable investment in the long term.

Funds for four of the projects will be sourced from loans borrowed by the China Railway Corporation, the Ministry of Transport and the provincial government where the railway is located, as well as from several banks including the World Bank and China Development Bank.

Read the full story here.