China Already Clears Infrastructure Projects Worth 70% of 2021 Total

(Bloomberg) — China’s government gave the green light already this year to infrastructure projects worth nearly 70% of what was allowed for the whole of last year, another sign that Beijing is accelerating spending to bolster an economy hit hard by Covid.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) approved 32 projects worth a combined 520 billion yuan ($81.6 billion) so far this year in sectors including transportation, energy and high tech, said Ou Hong, head of the top economic planning agency’s investment department, at a briefing Friday. That compares with a total of 775.4 billion yuan of investment in 90 projects for all of last year.