Seven Chinese provinces on Tuesday announced 287 public-private partnerships (PPP) projects that will be open to private investors.
The projects, which collectively are worth around 940 billion yuan (148 billion U.S. dollars), include municipal works, highways, rail, airport, water conservation and energy projects.
They were announced during a PPP promotion teleconference organized by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in cooperation with the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.
PPP are collaborative projects between governments and private companies that are mainly funded and operated by the latter.
These partnerships could help improve structural reform of investment and financing, energize private investment, while improving public products and services, said Zhang Yong, deputy head of the NDRC.
China is turning to PPPs to bridge a huge financing shortfall in infrastructure construction, in a bid to temper the economic slowdown caused largely by the ongoing property downturn.
The government will streamline the approval procedures for PPPs, and roll out tax breaks and other financial rewards.
