The World Bank will provide loans in China's future infrastructure construction as the supportto its urbanization, said its vice president Katherine Sierra here Wednesday.

Speaking at the ongoing 2005 Asia Pacific Cities Summit in southwest China's Chongqing municipality, the official said China has already done a good job and set other developing countries a good example in city infrastructure construction.

It is the result of the pervasive urbanization in the country, she said.

Sierra said China's urbanization is featured with high economic growth rate and poverty alleviation.

Currently, about 80 percent of the country's economic growth isdevoted by the cities and townships and China is heading toward an urbanized society.

The World Bank will assist China to promote its urbanization development through improving the hardware building, or infrastructure construction, to ensure the power supply, communication, traffic and environment of the cities, making them more competitive.

One the other hand, the official said the World Bank will also offer loans to China's cities in upgrading their software levels, including the investment environment and technology innovation andresearch.

The World Bank will in future shift their focus to cities in western China areas like Chongqing, Sichuan, Guangxi and Yunnan.

The western part and the rural part of China will receive more investment in the future, Sierra promised.

She said the World Bank has already approved to provide two loans, worth 380 million US dollars in total, to improve the sewage disposal capacity and the water supply system in Chongqing.

Source: Xinhua