BEIJING, June 11 -- Reconstruction of quake-hit areas in Sichuan Province would offer huge investment opportunities, Cai Jing, deputy Secretary-General of the Sichuan Provincial Government, told the fifth Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Economic and Trade Fair Tuesday.

    Cai said the total required for rebuilding would reach 1.7 trillion yuan (about 249 billion U.S. dollars) by 2010.

    Reconstruction includes houses for 4.5 million urban and rural residents; 51,000 kilometers of roads, 5,500 kilometers of railways, 11,700 schools, 9,700 medical institutions, 2,000 reservoirs, 810 power plants and 4000 enterprises.

    Soundbite: Cai Jing, deputy Secretary-General of Sichuan Provincial Government:

    "As far as fund sources are concerned, 300 billion yuan could be raised from financial departments at all levels and the relevant provinces and cities, and 600 billion yuan from credit funds. The remainder needs to be collected through the market, which means huge investment opportunities."

    The 8.0-magnitude quake struck Sichuan and parts of Shaanxi and Gansu on May 12, 2008, leaving more than 87,000 dead or missing. Property losses are valued at more than 800 billion yuan.

    Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nanning. (XHTV)