12 June, 2008 - Around half of businesses in the Chinese region of Sichuan hit by a massive earthquake last month will be able to resume production within a month, the government has said. Food processing plants will be among the first to receive help, officials promised.
The proportion of firms in production could rise to as much as 75% within three months, China said after the 12 May earthquake that authorities say has cost over 20,000 businesses in Sichuan US$29 billion (200 Billion Yuan).
However, officials from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology gave no indication of how long it would be before industrial production levels would reach pre-earthquake levels.
The Government said large-scale food processing plants would among those prioritised to receive help in terms of repairing infrastructure and power supplies.