Donations exceeding 5 billion yuan (US$732 million) have been allocated to reconstruction in the area hit by the 8-magnitude May 12 earthquake of 2008, the Ministry of Civil Affairs announced Tuesday.

The ministry had received quake-relief donations of 5.06 billion yuan by Oct. 31, 2009, all of which has been channeled into the southwest China quake zone, said a statement on the ministry's website.

More than 4.5 billion yuan had been channeled to the governments of quake-hit provinces, and 528.6 million yuan to governments of provinces that provided quake-relief materials, said the statement.

Worst affected Sichuan Province received more than 1.9 billion yuan, Gansu Province more than 1.75 billion yuan, Shannxi Province 812 million yuan, Yunnan Province 1 million yuan and Chongqing Municipality 59.4 million yuan.

The rest of the donations, 6.22 million yuan, had been used in developing a donation information database, subsidizing Customs officers in quake-hit areas, and purchasing rehabilitation devices for children.

Apart from the 5 billion yuan in donations, quake-relief donations listed as "special Party membership fees" of 7.98 billion yuan donated by the Communist Party members across China had also been allocated.

(Xinhua News Agency March 9, 2010)