In what could be the biggest construction investment made in history, the Chinese government announced that it will be investing in a record-breaking $125 billion for the China Railway.
According to Nikkei Asian Review, this amount is 10 percent more than what the planners originally proposed for the budget. The figures are also 6 percent more than what China spent on rail constructions in 2018.
Analysts believe that the China Railway project was proposed to help ease the impact of global economic growth decline. It is also presumed to be a bounce-back move that the government planned after the Zhejiang accident in 2011.
40 people were killed by a bullet train collision in Zhejiang Province in 2011 and the long-awaited project was halted. The government's slowdown in spending was also impacted by the financial crisis that China faced in 2008.
The latest statistics revealed that China saw a decline in fixed asset investments. The figures recorded a 5.9 percent decade low that prompted the government to take action before greater losses are incurred.
Furthermore, China announced on Monday that the country's economy grew by only 6.4 percent in the last quarter of 2018. These numbers are the lowest yet since the huge 2008 rock-bottom scenario.
To battle the slowing economy, China came up with plans to expedite construction projects, including the rail proposal that could help boost the Chinese economy. Taxes have also been cut to help ease individual and entity difficulties as the country prepares for a global descent.
The China Railway has a grand agenda as it is expected to see a 45 percent hike in new infrastructure projects across the country. Japan, Germany, France, and Spain all have huge rail records but with the expanded 3,200km high-speed rail capacity of the Chinese rail project, the Asian country looks to be on top.
China's Railway project will be a solution to domestic demand, Global Construction Review noted. Also, if all goes as planned, Beijing will be well ahead of its 2020 monumental plan of building 30,000km high-speed railway ports.
The Chinese government is considering the construction of new lines in areas between Jiangxi and Hunan, another in the Xiaong'an New Area and Henan, and potentially a second line from Sichuan to Tibet. A line for the Chongqing and Sichuan Province is also in talks.
As with other monstrous projects, the China Railway is expected to meet risks along the way, particularly in the area of debt. However, the government has noted that it is preparing well for potential dangers along the way.
