China to rollout infra projects to combat economic slowdown

The government of China has planned to expedite major infrastructure projects to combat the country's economic slowdown and identifies 102 mega projects including High Speed Rail (HSR) expansion by 12,000 km.

The top economic planning agency of China announced that it will moderately front-load infrastructure investment to drive 102 mega projects earmarked for the 14th Five-Year Plan period.

Domestic demand and sluggish consumption have emerged as the two major weaknesses of the Chinese economy, and infrastructure investment is a critical requirement.

With only about 0.4% annual growth rate, Chinese infrastructure investment in 2021 was down compared to the previous year. The infrastructure investment is expected to increase 5% in 2022.

Other factors include the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chain bottlenecks and real estate issues. The Chinese economy grew by 4% in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021 from 4.9% in the third quarter (Q3).

China's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 8.1% in 2021, while its GDP is projected to moderate at 5.5% in 2022.

Its mega projects include infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, public transit systems, airports, nuclear power plants, power transmission lines and pipelines. The country will also expand its high-speed rail (HSR) network to curb economic decline. China has the world's largest HSR network and plans to expand it to 50,000 km by 2025. It aims to double its HSR network to 100,000 km by 2031.

China will also focus on widening the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) in China and abroad. The BDS provides all-weather, high-accuracy positioning, navigation and timing services to its users worldwide.

BDS is a rival US Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides transportation, emergency medical rescue and city planning and management. The Shanghai government plans to accelerate projects, including shipping and public transit to water conservation and sewage systems.

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