China strengthens urban rail transit planning supervision

BEIJING - China will step up efforts in strengthening the supervision of urban rail transit planning and construction to rein in local government debt risk.

The development scale of urban rail transit should match the city's real demand, and the construction scale with its financial ability, according to a guideline released by the general office of the State Council.

The fiscal revenue and GDP of the city qualified to apply for subway construction were raised from 10 billion yuan ($1.49 billion) and 100 billion yuan to 30 billion yuan and 300 billion yuan, respectively, said the guideline.

The application and review process will be strictly supervised, and risk control will be strengthened to guard against local government debt risk, according to the guideline.

China's local government debt soared during an investment and construction binge following the 2008 global financial crisis. Well aware of the risks, authorities have taken an array of measures to reduce the local debt burden.

Debt ceilings have been set for local governments, a debt-for-bond swap program has been piloted to exchange higher-cost loans with lower-cost bonds, while steps were taken to move some local government fiscal liabilities to higher authorities.