A total of 165.14 billion yuan (about 20.6 billion US dollars) of default payment in China's construction sector had been paid back by Dec. 25, said sources with the national construction conference that closed Tuesday in Nanjing.

Approximately 66.28 billion yuan (8.28 billion US dollars) of the repaid money was for the government-invested building projects completed before late 2003, said the Ministry of Construction.

The State Council, or the central Chinese government, required all default payment in the construction sector be cleared up in 2006.

Minister of Construction Wang Guangtao said at the conference that the incoming year 2006 will be a tough year for the ministry to fulfil the task of repaying and establish a healthy market in the construction sector.

The ministry will take essential and comprehensive economic, legal and administrative measures to tackle the default payment problem next year, so as to protect the migratory rural farmer workers' personal interests.

Source: Xinhua