BEIJING: China will invest 745.5 billion yuan ($114.8 billion) in its railways in 2011, the official news agency Xinhua reported late on Friday, despite media reports that the budget would be cut following the sacking of the country's rail chief in March.
Xinhua said China plans to lay 30,000 km of new tracks over the next five years, and investment is expected to reach 2.8 trillion yuan, 41.4 percent higher than the 2006-2010.
Domestic media reports had suggested China's railway budget would be slashed to around 400 billion yuan this year due to the fallout surrounding the dismissal of railway minister Liu Zhijun in March.
Liu was accused of "serious disciplinary violations", a phrase that normally denotes corruption, but officials were reported to be concerned about the speed and safety of China's ambitious rail construction plans.
The ministry, which has resisted calls to hive off its spending divisions into independent corporations, is believed to have racked up heavy debts. Local newspapers said in April that it was looking for ways to control spending and was likely to scale back or suspend new railway lines.
China spent 823 billion yuan on its railways in 2010, driven up by a 4 trillion yuan stimulus package aimed at boosting domestic demand following the global financial crisis.
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