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Quake-hit Sichuan aims for 9% growth this year

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-01-16 11:36

The government of Sichuan province set its economic growth goal at 9 percent this year despite the impact of the devastating earthquake last year and the deepening global recession.

Last year, Sichuan saw a 9.5-percent increase in total production value to 1.25 trillion yuan ($183 billion), said Governor Jiang Jufeng in his work report to the provincial people's congress in Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, on Thursday.

According to the report, budget revenue for local finance was 104.1 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.9 percent. Per capita income for urban residents was 12,633 yuan, up 13.8 percent, and 4,121 yuan for rural people, up 16.2 percent.

After the magnitude-8 earthquake on May 12, 2008, the growth rate of the province's gross domestic product (GDP) dropped dramatically to 4.6 percent in the second quarter from 14.5 percent of the first quarter. Then the GDP rose by 10.1 percent in the third quarter and 9.5 percent in the fourth.

The tourism industry saw revenue decrease by 10.3 percent last year.

"Compared with the difficulties, Sichuan faces more opportunities in the new year," said Liu Jie, director of the provincial development and reform commission, at the congress on Thursday.

Liu said the central government would give the backward western area more preferential policies and funds, which would boost infrastructure construction for communications, energy and better living standards.