Rebuilding the cities in quake-hit region "very complicated" job

Source: China Daily | 05-08-2009 11:29

BEIJING, May 8 -- Officials in Sichuan, the region devastated a year ago by a massive earthquake, admitted yesterday that the rebuilding effort is not progressing as quickly in urban areas as it is in rural regions.

"Rebuilding of rural houses was expected to be finished by the end of September, while those in cities would be completed by next May," said Yu Wei, a provincial government spokesman, who spoke at a press conference days before the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that left 68,712 dead, including 5,335 students. "The complicated issues in regards to property rights are the main difficulty influencing the progress of reconstruction in cities," he said.

More than 241,000 houses in rural areas within the quake zone and 105,000 urban and township apartments are under construction, Yu noted.

One million units of housing have been finished in rural areas and 33,000 in cities.

Reconstruction of 46.2 percent of the damaged clinics and hospitals has started, the official said, adding that the rebuilding of most of the basic public service facilities including clinics and hospitals will be completed in two years.

Also yesterday, the Sichuan government said the 15.75 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) in donations raised for disaster relief and rebuilding after the massive Sichuan earthquake on May 12 were invaluable.