China quake reconstruction to cost $244B

BEIJING, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The cost of reconstruction in China's earthquake-devastated Sichuan province is estimated at $244 billion, officials said.

Commenting on the cost of repairing the damage caused by the May 12 earthquake, Vice Governor Huang Xiaoxiang said his province has been able to come up with only about $64 billion, leaving a gap of about $180 billion, China Daily reported Tuesday.

Huang said rebuilding the province will include construction and development of about 4.5 million homes, 31,700 miles of highways, 3,400 miles of railways, 11,700 schools, 9,700 hospitals and clinics, 2,000 reservoirs, 810 power stations, 4,000 office buildings, 247,000 acres of farmland and 740,000 acres of forest.

He said the project will require 37 million tons of steel, 370 million tons of cement, 700 million cubic feet of timber, 210 billion bricks and several billion cubic feet of sand and rocks.

The quake killed nearly 70,000 people, injured tens of thousands and left millions homeless.

The governor said more than 93 percent of the province's major businesses have resumed production and tourism markets have reopened in 13 cities and autonomous prefectures.

The province was hit by another earthquake last month, killing 38 people and injuring 589 others.