Chinese county eyes $1.5 bln in property projects

SHANGHAI, March 24 (Reuters) - Changsha county in China's Hunan province is planning projects worth more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) that will include an up-scale shopping mall and lake, the county's chief executive said on Tuesday.

The county will invest roughly a third of the total cost of investment, which includes up to 2 billion yuan, to relocate some of the residents who will be displaced, Yang Yiwen told Reuters on the sidelines of a real estate conference.

Changsha county has a population of about 750,000 and is the headquarters of major Chinese construction machinery maker Sany Heavy Industry Co (600031.SS).

Yang, who is also a senior economist, said funding would come from the county's fiscal revenues and from the sale of land in the lake area, an ideal venue for premier residential projects.

Three to 5 five-star hotels and a small-to-medium sized golf course could potentially be built in the area, he said.

Investors were also needed for a shopping mall, which could emulate the urban tourist attraction, Xintiandi, in downtown Shanghai, featuring restaurants, retail, entertainment and residential facilities.

Growth in China's urban property prices slowed abruptly in early 2008, when the global financial crisis started to ripple through the economy, winding up a five-year bull run.

The government ushered in a slew of steps to support the slowing property market in the fourth quarter of last year, such as cuts in business and transaction taxes.

($1=6.829 Yuan) (Reporting by Fang Yan, Editing by Jacqueline Wong)