Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government approved a grant of 700,000 HK dollars (about US$90,000) Thursday for relief project in quake-hit Sichuan Province.

The new fund from the Disaster Relief Fund is granted to the Association of Chinese Evangelical Ministry Limited, raising the total value of grants for earthquake victims in the Chinese mainland to 333.05 million HK dollars (US$42.7 million).

Previously, HKSAR government has donated 332.35 million HK dollars (US$42.61 million) for government departments on the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong's local charity agency to provide emergency relief to quake victims in Sichuan.

"To ensure that the money will be used for the designated relief purposes, the relief agency has been asked to submit evaluation report and audited account on the use of the grant after the relief project has been completed," a spokesman of the HKSAR government said.

The Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee of Hong Kong is responsible for advising the HKSAR government on the policy and practices regarding the disbursement of funding for disaster relief in places outside Hong Kong, as well as advising on specific amounts to specific recipients, and monitoring the use of grants.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2008)