The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on Saturday the country's banking industry has issued loans worth of 205.36 billion yuan (US$30.2 billion) to Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces by March end for earthquake relief and reconstruction.

A total of 168.99 billion yuan went to Sichuan Province. Shaanxi and Gansu received 16.07 billion yuan and 20.31 billion yuan, respectively, said the commission.

The three provinces, all hit by the May 12 earthquake last year, received 12.83 billion yuan in loans for rebuilding houses for 645,000 rural families by the end of April.

The CBRC said it would further encourage credit loans and actively introduce various sources of capital into the quake-hit area.

China's top planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Friday that jobs had been done on the investment of 360 billion yuan (about US$52.7 billion) into post-quake reconstruction by end of April, one-third of the planned total.

The commission said the government now aims to finish most of the reconstruction work in two years, instead of the originally planned three years.

(Xinhua News Agency May 10, 2009)