Li Xiaopeng, director of China’s Ministry of Transportation (MOT), stated on February 20 that China will try its best to realize its annual target in 2020 of RMB 1.8 trillion ($0.26 trillion) for road and waterway investments.
In particular, under the current situation of epidemic prevention and control, the MOT will launch a batch of construction projects in line with major national strategies and planning. By the end of 2019, the MOT had issued the first batch of investment projects for 2020, including RMB 41.92 billion ($6.0 billion) for road construction in rural areas and RMB 7.14 billion ($1.02 billion) for investment in construction of ports. Mr. Li indicated that the MOT will promptly put forward its second batch of planned investments for 2020.
The MOT had announced previously that, except for Hubei Province and other provinces with strict measures for epidemic prevention and control, most regions should resume construction activities on February 20. Currently, transportation construction projects in Sichuan Province, Chongqing and Guangdong Province have recommenced.
The MOT has also requested regions and provinces in China to resume traffic and transportation gradually depending on the epidemic situation.
Though construction will accelerate in the coming months as the government is taking measures to offset the impact from the coronavirus outbreak, total investments in 2020 are expected to be lower than in 2019. In the January-November period of 2019, fixed asset investment in roads and waterways in China totaled RMB 2.1595 trillion ($0.3 trillion), as the MOT reported earlier.