China will start the reconstruction of a quake-devastated Tibetan region Saturday, post-quake reconstruction headquarters said Thursday.

Yushu, located in northwest China's Qinghai Province, was devastated by a 7.1-magnitude quake struck on April 14, killing more than 2,200 people and flattening thousands of homes.

The first batch of more than 200 projects worth 16 billion yuan (US$2.36 billion) will mainly focus on residential houses, schools, hospitals and other public service facilities, said Kuang Yong, head of the province's housing and urban-rural development department and who is also in charge of the reconstruction headquarters, at a press conference.

Starting from Saturday, the 200 projects will begin construction gradually.

China plans to spend 31.7 billion yuan on the reconstruction of Yushu, which is expected to take three years, according to the State Council.

Funding for the reconstruction will come mainly from the central budget, with contributions from provincial finances and donations.

"By the end of this year, more than 10 billion yuan will be invested and we will finish constructions of 80 percent of the rural houses and 30 percent of the urban houses in the three-year plan," said Kuang.

Meanwhile, the headquarters are also preparing the constructions of the second batch of 148 projects, he added, without giving details about when it will start.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2010)