The national capital Beijing reported an output value totaling 88.69 billion yuan (10.72 billion US dollars) in the first quarter this year, a rise of 13.8 percent year on year.

According to the municipal statistics bureau, the growth rate represents the highest over the past decade.

Yu Xiuqin, a spokesperson for the bureau, said here Monday that industrial production contributed significantly to local economic growth in the first quarter of the year. The municipality's added industrial output value reached 27.11 billion yuan (3.27 billion US dollars), an increase of 18.3 percent over the same 2003 period and was the best level in the past three years.

Spurred by the massive investment to Olympic projects, Beijing reported fixed assets investments totaling 29.82 billion yuan (3.6billion US dollars) in the three-month period, up 36.5 percent year on year.

Of the 73 projects which were under way in the first quarter, four were facilities serving Olympic Games in 2008.

Beijing's revenue grew by 22.3 percent year on year to reach 19.36 billion yuan (2.34 billion US dollars) in the first quarter.

Beijing witnessed a brisk consumer sales in the first three months, with total retail sales reaching 52.72 billion yuan (6.37 billion US dollars), a rise of 11.4 percent year on year when deducting prices.

In the first quarter, Beijingers spent 10.53 billion yuan (about 1.27 billion US dollars) on residential houses, up 10.2 percent, 7.03 billion yuan (850 million US dollars) on automobiles, a rise o 16.8 percent and 1 billion yuan (120 million US dollars) on telecommunications equipment and instruments, an increase of 35.6 percent year on year.

Yu, the official with local statistics bureau, noted that bird flu outbreak early this year did not affect much local consumer market.

Although sales of poultry and eggs dropped to some extent so far this year, currently sales of eggs and other poultry products have returned to normal thanks to prompt, effective preventative measures taken by the local government, Yu said.