Quake-hit Yushu to complete reconstruction in 2013

Reconstruction work in a quake-hit plateau region in northwest China's Qinghai Province will be completed this year, local authorities said Friday.

By the end of 2012, a total of 1,224 reconstruction projects had been launched in Yushu prefecture with an investment of about 38 billion yuan(6.1 billion U.S. dollars), said Kuang Yong, chief of the provincial housing and construction bureau.

Nearly all of the area's homes have been rebuilt, Kuang said, adding that 71 schools and 48 health facilities have also been completed.

The restoration of local cultural relics is nearly finished, although 87 religious sites are still being repaired, Kuang said.

Yushu was hit by a magnitude-7.1 earthquake on April 14, 2010. More than 2,698 people were killed and the entire town of Gyegu, located near the quake's epicenter, was leveled.