Beijing is expected to invest at least 7 billion yuan (US$1.02 billion) in the quake-hit Sichuan Province in the coming two years, according to Mayor Guo Jinlong on Wednesday.

The money will be used on construction, intellectual support and industry cooperation. The focus this year is 39 programs, including construction of residential buildings, schools and hospitals, Guo said here at a Sichuan post-quake investment conference.

In total, 86 energy-saving houses provided by Beijing had been delivered to Shifang Municipal Welfare Center. In addition, the city had provided 11,696 jobs to Shifang City residents and received 1,579 students from one of the worst-hit areas in the May12 quake.

The conference proposed 685 post-quake programs with a total investment of 601.7 billion yuan. These included industries of hi-tech, resources, equipment manufacturing, agriculture, service trade, culture, tourism and infrastructure.

Beijing and Sichuan companies signed 54 agreements here on Wednesday involving a total investment of 66.6 billion yuan.

The quake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, struck Wenchuan County in the southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12. It left more than 80,000 dead or missing and was the deadliest and strongest tremor to hit China since the 1976 Tangshan earthquake.

(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2008)