The Chinese Railways Ministry will carry out joint-stock pilot
projects, so as to speed up the railways'system reforms, said
Chinese Railways Minister Liu Zhijun in Beijing on Sunday.
He said China's railways departments will actively seek domestic
and overseas investors, set up standardized joint-stock companies
and collect capitals from the society in forms of joint-stocks, so
as to explore new ways of railways construction and
administration.
As the railway industry is one of the few monopoly industries in
China, its reform has always been a focus of public attention at
home and abroad. China's railway departments are in their way to
explore multi-channel financing systems in railway construction,
Liu said.
He said this year China will further deepen reforms in
professional transportation companies, and balance the economic
relations between various sectors, so as to realize a sustainable
and fast development of the railway transportation.
He also noted that the Chinese Railways Ministry will try out
making assessments of business achievements of 14 railways bureaus
and 3 professional transportation companies.
He said in the new year the railways departments of the whole
country will speed up basic reforms, and make efforts to promote
the reforms of investment and financing systems.
Nation to see railway construction peak
China is to see another peak period of railway construction in
the coming years, which aims to relieve the transportation pressure
and meet the needs of rapid economic growth.
China's railway length is expected to extend from 72,000
kilometers to 100,000 kilometers by 2020 and the technical
equipment will near international level, said Chinese Railways
Minister Liu Zhijun here Sunday at a working conference.
The investment in railway will increase greatly in 2004, the
first year of China's railway construction blueprint, said Liu.
China will also launch a series of new railway projects this
year, and much reconstruction work will be carried out to improve
the transportation efficiency, said Liu.
The medium-term and long-term goal of railway construction was
described in a blueprint on China's railway network, which was
passed on Jan. 7 at a meeting held by the State Council.
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(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2004)