The increased investment in railway projects under the central government stimulus package has led to a surge in demand for railway tracks. So far this year, the Ministry of Railway has ordered 3.25m tons of tracks. Only four major iron and steel plants in China are able to produce the special heavy duty tracks required: Panzhihua Iron and Steel in southern Sichuan, Anshan Iron and Steel in Liaoning, Baotou Iron and Steel in Inner Mongolia and Wuhan Iron and Steel in central China.

Reports from Baotou alone said that 110,000 tons of railway tracks had been dispatched up to 10 March, equivalent to 36 per cent of last year’s total.

According to the central government’s budget this year, Rmb103.5bn will be spent on roads, Rmb73.2bn on railways, Rmb24.2bn on airports and Rmb10.3bn on ports. Prominent projects include the Beijing-Shanghai express railway line and a number of railway lines in the interior, the Yangtze waterway, and airports in the middle and western parts of the country. Road building projects will aim to connect rural areas with urban areas.