China’s top 10 infrastructure projects for 2020 and beyond will help boost its slowing economy

China approved 26 infrastructure projects with a total expected investment of 981.7 billion yuan (US$142 billion) in 2019

Rail projects in Chongqing, Kunming, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Xian top the list, which also includes the expansion of Xianyang International Airport

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China approved 26 infrastructure projects with a total expected investment of 981.7 billion yuan (US$142 billion) in 2019. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00am, 28 Jan 2020Updated: 2:31pm, 17 Feb 2020

As advocated by renowned economists, including former central bank adviser including Yu Yongding, China accelerated its review and approval process for infrastructure projects in December, although last year’s total still dropped by two thirds from 2018.

In 2019, China approved 26 infrastructure projects with a total expected investment of 981.7 billion yuan (US$142 billion), a drop of 66.33 per cent from the 1.48 trillion yuan approved investment for the 27 infrastructure projects in 2018, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The NDRC did not approve any infrastructure projects in October and November, with concerns over a return to the debt-fuelled infrastructure investment binge that caused Beijing to halt approval of such projects in 2017.

China, though, saw its gross domestic product growth rate slow to 6.1 per cent last year, and large spending on infrastructure projects is the old policy playbook that China has turned to in the past.

“To compensate for declining real estate investment and weakening exports, China must maintain reasonable growth in infrastructure investment,” Yu said.

We review the top 10 infrastructure projects by expected investment value that China approved in 2019, each costing over 40 billion yuan (US$6 billion).

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