China's central government will manage and repay emergency assistance loans of US$1.5 billion from five international organizations for reconstruction after last year's May 12 earthquake.

It has been approved by the State Council, or Cabinet.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced the decision at a conference in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, on Tuesday, saying the move would help ease financing difficulties for quake-hit Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces.

The bulk of money comprised US$710 million from the World Bank, 510 million of which was earmarked for Sichuan and 200 million for Gansu.

The rest was from the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the French Development Agency, and the Rome-based International Fund for Agricultural Development.

The NDRC said the loans would be used for infrastructure, healthcare, education, environmental and energy projects in the three provinces.

NDRC Vice Minister Zhang Xiaoqiang urged local authorities to actively and effectively use the money to step up rebuilding work, which would help buoy domestic demand.

Premier Wen Jiabao said at the annual session of the National People's Congress in March that the central government would allocate 130 billion yuan for reconstruction in regions affected by the quake.

(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2009)