(Yicai) Sept. 24 -- All of the CNY150 billion (USD21.3 billion) of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds issued by the Chinese government this year has already been allocated to large-scale equipment renewal projects, a senior official at the country’s macroeconomic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, said today.

The bonds have supported more than 4,500 projects across a number of different sectors including industry, infrastructure, transportation, education and healthcare, said Liu Dechun, director of the NDRC’s department of resource conservation and environmental protection.

The estimated total investment in equipment upgrades is almost CNY800 billion (USD113 billion), Liu said. This will enable the renewal of over two million pieces of machinery and achieve energy savings of approximately 25 million tons of standard coal per year.

China’s value added in manufacturing accounts for approximately 30 percent of the global total, Liu said. As the world's largest manufacturing country, China also holds the top position globally in terms of the amount of machinery and equipment in use. The country probably has equipment assets worth around CNY40 trillion (USD5.6 trillion), according to estimations by third-party organizations.

Investment in machinery and tools acquisition in the industrial sector soared 16.8 percent in the eight months ended Aug. 31 year on year, which is 13.4 percentage points higher than the growth rate of total investment. This investment contributed 64.2 percent to the growth of total investment, a gain of 3.5 percentage points compared to the period January to July.

In the fields of transportation and agriculture, the number of electric buses replacing fossil-fuel powered buses, as well as the renewal of old trucks and ships, has increased significantly. From January to August, 4.2 million scrap cars were recycled, a jump of 42.4 percent year on year. This is already more than 90 percent of last year’s total volume

And the phasing out and upgrading of old farming machinery led to a 5.2 percent jump in investment in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery from January to August year on year. In the education sector, the upgrading of outdated equipment resulted in a 3 percent increase in investment and in the sports and entertainment sector, to a 2.2 percent gain.

Many public hospitals are upgrading their equipment. Some places in the country are also promoting the updating of gear in the construction and municipal sectors, such as elevators in residential buildings as well as environmental infrastructure.

Editor: Kim Taylor