China last year implemented 197 projects of industrial restructuring in northeast China, one of the largest old industrial bases, said a senior official with the State Council (SC) during a press conference held by the SC Information Office in Beijing Wednesday.

Zhang Guobao, chairman of State Council's Office of the LeadingGroup for Revitalizing Northeast China and Other Old Industrial Bases, said this showed that the central government beefed up its endorsement to restructuring and key construction projects.

Since the first batch of 100 projects of industrial restructuring was implemented in 2003, the central government had approved the second batch of 197 projects in 2004.

The total investment for the two batches of projects reached 108.9 billion yuan, he said.

By the end of 2004, 800 million yuan of subsidy on interest payment was made available to lower levels, Zhang said.

Northeast China also launched 118 projects for hi-tech development. Some ten billion yuan from the treasury bonds was used for agriculture, forestry and water projects, road construction in rural areas and 15 cave-in areas for the sake of coal excavation in Northeast China, Zhang said. Enditem