China approves 25 urban rail projects

BEIJING ?-- China's top economic planning agency has approved 25 urban rail projects that could be worth more than 800 billion yuan ($126.98 billion).

The National Development and Reform Commission on Wednesday announced the approvals of project plans and feasibility reports for the 25 projects in cities including Shijiazhuang, Taiyuan, Lanzhou, Guangzhou and Xiamen, according to the NDRC's website.

The move marks the government's latest effort to stabilize economic growth when external demand remains weak as the U.S. economy has been struggling to gain traction and Europe is slipping toward a recession, Xu Changle, professor of regional economics at the East China Normal University.

China's economy grew by 7.6 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2012, its slowest pace in three years, official data shows.

Forty Chinese cities will have subway systems by 2020, bringing the total track length to 7,000 km, 4.3 times the current length, according to the China Association of Metros, an organization under the direct supervision of the NDRC.

Railroad equipment manufacturers and construction companies will be the major beneficiaries of the approved infrastructure spending, Xu said.

Boosted by the news, CSR Corp, the country's biggest train maker, gained 4.13 percent to 4.04 yuan as of 11 am.