China sees rail spending at $100 bln/yr next 3 yrs

SHANGHAI Aug 11 (Reuters) - China will invest more than 700 billion yuan ($102 billion) a year in rail construction on average over the next three years after a rise to 600 billion yuan this year, vice railway minister Wang Zhiguo said in remarks published in official media on Tuesday.

The official Shanghai Securities News said rail investment last year rose 88.6 percent from a year earlier to 337.5 billion yuan, as the government seeks to bolster domestic demand.

Wang added that the ministry would seek to approve 20,000 kilometres of additional rail construction, requiring total investment of more than 2 trillion yuan, by the end of next year. China has said it would spend 5 trillion yuan until 2020 to expand its rail network to promote economic growth and ease transport bottlenecks. [ID:nPEK280781]

Last year, China announced a sweeping 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus package of spending over the next two years, with a large portion of the funds targeting infrastructure projects such as roads and railways. ($1=6.834 Yuan) (Reporting by Edmund Klamann; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)