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Over 130 billion yuan in 33 days! The National Development and Reform Commission intensively approves large infrastructure projects
The approved amount of fixed investment projects in the third quarter was 4.8 times that in the second quarter, and the steady investment in the fourth quarter showed its strength
Every reporter Li Keyu Every editor Chen Xing
In the past month, domestic investment in fixed assets, especially in infrastructure construction, has been making great moves.
On November 19, the National Development and Reform Commission published the Reply to the Feasibility Study Report of Urumqi Airport Reconstruction and Expansion Project on its website. The content shows that the total investment of the project is 42.114 billion yuan, including 39.427 billion yuan for the airport project. Moreover, according to incomplete statistics, the NDRC has approved three infrastructure projects with an investment scale of more than 30 billion yuan in just 33 days, with a total investment of 132.409 billion yuan.
The reporter of the Daily Economic News noted that according to the relevant data released by the National Development and Reform Commission, the domestic investment in fixed assets has shown a significant growth trend since the third quarter of this year. The amount of fixed asset investment projects approved by the NDRC in the third quarter of this year was 4.8 times that in the second quarter and 2.6 times that in the first quarter.
The scale of the launching project is higher than before
The reporter of the Daily Economic News noticed that, in addition to the reply published on November 19, the Reply on the Feasibility Study Report of the New Chongqing Qianjiang Railway was also published on October 30. The total investment of the project is estimated to be 53.5 billion yuan, including 51.41 billion yuan of engineering investment and 2.09 billion yuan of EMU purchase cost. Earlier, on October 17, the National Development and Reform Commission also released the Reply to the Feasibility Study Report on the New Shanghai Huzhou Railway via Suzhou. The total investment of this project is 36.795 billion yuan, including 35.625 billion yuan for engineering investment and 1.17 billion yuan for purchase of EMUs.
Among the projects of the same type, the above investment scale exceeds most of the projects approved this year. For example, in July 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the feasibility study report of the Yinchuan Huinong section of the new Baotou Yinchuan Railway. According to the data, the total investment of the project is 12.87 billion yuan, including 12.46 billion yuan for the project and 410 million yuan for the purchase of multiple units.
After a simple comparison, it can be found that the investment amount of this project is significantly lower than the two approved railway projects mentioned above.
At the same time, the reporter also found that, judging from the frequency of information released by the National Development and Reform Commission, the approval of new fixed asset investment projects in recent years also reflects a fairly intensive feature. According to incomplete statistics, from January to August this year, the NDRC released the official website of five new fixed asset investment projects. Since September this year, the National Development and Reform Commission has issued the approval for three new fixed investment projects, which is significantly faster than that from January to August this year.
The intensive launching of a large number of projects also boosted the performance of the overall fixed asset investment. At the press conference of the National Development and Reform Commission held on the morning of November 15, Meng Wei, the spokesman, said: "In October, the Commission approved a total of 9 fixed asset investment projects, of which 6 were approved and 3 were approved, with a total investment of 91.8 billion yuan, mainly in transportation, energy and other fields."
Previously, Meng Wei said at the press conference on October 24 that in the first three quarters of 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission approved 147 fixed asset investment projects, including 117 and 30, with a total investment of 697.7 billion yuan. The reporter noticed that according to data, the National Development and Reform Commission approved 102 projects with a total investment of 260.3 billion yuan in the first half of this year. In the first quarter, the National Development and Reform Commission approved 55 fixed asset investment projects, including 39 projects and 16 projects, with a total investment of 169.8 billion yuan. In other words, the amount of fixed asset investment projects approved by the NDRC in the third quarter of this year was 4.8 times that in the second quarter and 2.6 times that in the first quarter.
The project has been prepared for a long time
What are the specific areas and scope of a large number of fixed asset investment projects that have been intensively launched this time?
The reporter from the Daily Economic News noted that, from the perspective of the coverage of the projects currently open, it is closely linked with several key areas proposed in the previously released Guiding Opinions on Maintaining the Strength of Shortcomings Correction in the Infrastructure Field (hereinafter referred to as the Opinions).
The Opinions clearly stated that "we should focus on promoting the preliminary work of a number of new construction, relocation, reconstruction and expansion projects of international hub airports and regional airports in the central and western regions, and strive to start construction as soon as possible, improve the competitiveness of international hub airports, and expand the coverage of air transport in the central and western regions." In the list of fixed investment projects released this time, There is the reconstruction and expansion project of Urumqi Airport, an important aviation hub in the western region.
In addition, the Opinions also put forward that focusing on the central and western regions, we should accelerate the "eight vertical and eight horizontal" main channel project of high-speed railway, expand regional railway connections, and further improve the railway backbone network. Accelerate the commencement of a number of strategic and landmark railway projects. Promote the planning and construction of intercity railways in Beijing Tianjin Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area and other regions.
The National Development and Reform Commission also made it clear in the reply to the feasibility report of Chongqing Qianjiang High speed Railway that "in order to thoroughly implement the development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, improve the layout of the high-speed railway network, accelerate the formation of the main high-speed railway channel from Chongqing to Xiamen, and drive the economic and social development of the regions along the line, the Chongqing Qianjiang High speed Railway is agreed to be built."
The reporter also found that many projects that were intensively approved by the National Development and Reform Commission had been prepared for a long time, and had also been included in the "reserve list" that the relevant departments strive to start within the year. For example, the project proposal of Urumqi Airport Reconstruction and Expansion Project was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in August 2017. Ma Qiang, Deputy Director of the Department of Basic Industries of the National Development and Reform Commission, also said publicly in September this year that he would strive to implement major projects such as the reconstruction and expansion of Urumqi Airport.
Attach importance to promoting effective investment
The reporter found that the decision-makers paid close attention to the smooth progress of effective fixed investment and infrastructure investment, so as to promote the steady growth of the overall economy.
The meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held on July 31 this year made it clear that, at present, it is the key task to deepen the supply side structural reform, and it is necessary to strengthen the efforts to remedy weaknesses in the field of infrastructure. The meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held on October 31 this year also stressed that we should do a good job in stabilizing employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign capital, investment and expectations, effectively respond to changes in the external economic environment, and ensure stable economic operation.
Against this backdrop, the growth rate of fixed asset investment, which was previously in the downward range, has also reversed in recent years. According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on November 14, from January to October, the national fixed asset investment (excluding farmers) grew 5.7% year on year, 0.3 percentage points higher than that from January to September. Among them, from January to October, infrastructure investment increased by 3.7% year on year, 0.4 percentage points higher than that in the first three quarters, achieving the first recovery since this year.
At the press conference of the National Development and Reform Commission on November 15, Meng Wei also said that while doing a good job in the field of infrastructure, we should guard against and resolve the hidden debt risks and financial risks of local governments, and firmly fight against and resolve major risks.
She pointed out that for local governments, they should grasp the "three strictures". First, strict feasibility study demonstration. In the feasibility study stage of the construction project, it is necessary to fully demonstrate whether the fund raising scheme is feasible according to the local financial affordability and the investment capacity of the local government, and increase financial constraints; Second, strict review of project construction conditions. Distinguish priorities, and take effective measures to ensure reasonable financing needs for projects under construction that are really necessary and have a bearing on the national economy and people's livelihood, so as to avoid "half hearted" projects; Third, strictly guarantee debt raising. It is strictly prohibited to guarantee financing in violation of laws and regulations, and to borrow in disguised form in the name of government investment funds, government and social capital cooperation (PPP), government purchase of services, etc.
Editor in charge: Chen Yongle
