Six railway construction projects in east China's Shandong Province are open to foreign investment, the province's State Assets Regulatory and Management Committee has announced.

The move made Shandong the first province to admit foreign capital into the sector after the nation issued new management regulations on foreign investment at the end of 2004, which no longer restrict the flow-in of foreign capital into the field.

Railway construction used to be considered as strategic resources and was solely funded by state capital in the country.

Foreign investors can solely fund the six rail lines in Shandong, set up joint ventures or buy the property rights.

The total investment of the six projects are expected to exceed 5 billion yuan (about 600 million US dollars).

As China's second-largest economy at the provincial level, Shandong is in urgent need of all kinds of resources and expansion of the transportation capacity, especially the railway transportation.

The province requires an effective railway network to expedite its import and export channels and prop up its economy, said Li Chang'en, deputy director of the Shandong Railway Bureau.

Li said the six rail lines are an essential part of the province's railway network. The lines pass the resource-intensive areas where large state-owned coal mines and petroleum companies are located.

The six lines include the Longkou-Yantai Line, the Linqu-Yishui Line, the Dalailong Line, the Pingshang-Lanshan Line, the Zaozhuang-Linyi Line and the Longkou Port Line.

Source: Xinhua