BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhuanet) -- China Development Bank (CDB) has promised to issue 60.5 billion yuan (7.5 billion U.S. dollars) in loans for northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the coming five years, according to an agreement reached here Wednesday.

    The bank said it will give active support to "key sectors" including water control, railways, highways, small and medium-sized enterprises and mining resources, as well as harnessing major local rivers.

    CDB extended an accumulated 55.3 billion yuan in loans for capital projects in Xinjiang by the end of February, accounting for roughly 70 percent of the total lending the region received, the bank and regional administration said in a joint statement.

    The new agreement is of great significance for Xinjiang's all-round development, it said.

    Wang Lequan, Party secretary of Xinjiang, and a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, was, among others, present at the signing ceremony. Enditem