CHINA will invest 800 billion yuan (US$121.60 billion) in fixed assets in 2016 as part of ongoing efforts to expand its railway network, Shanghai Securities News reported yesterday.

    State-owned China Railway Corp. expects to boost passenger traffic by 10 percent and freight volume by 2 percent in 2016, the paper quoted the firm’s general manager Sheng Guangzu as saying Sunday. China Railway invested 823.8 billion yuan in 2015, building 9,531 kilometers of new lines which included 3,306 kilometers of high-speed rail, according to the paper.

    China has been rapidly expanding its railway network over the past years. Total fixed asset investments reached 3.58 trillion yuan during 2011 to 2015 and about 30,500 kilometers of new lines were added during that period, the paper said.

    China Railway would try to win more contracts overseas this year, including the Moscow-Kazan and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail projects.(SD-Agencies)