China gets 76 bln yuan in donations for Sichuan quake

Source: Xinhua | 05-12-2009 09:12

BEIJING, May 11 (Xinhua) -- China received about 76.7 billion yuan (about 11.2 billion U.S. dollars) in cash and relief materials from domestic and foreign donors after the massive earthquake last May 12, official sources said Monday.

By April 30, a total of 65.996 billion yuan in cash and relief materials worth 10.716 billion yuan were donated to areas affected by the quake, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said.

Most of the donations have been or will be spent on the construction of new houses, schools, medical institutions, welfare and cultural facilities for local people.

However, some 20 billion yuan of donations has not been transferred to the quake areas, largely because some reconstruction projects have yet been finalized, the ministry said.

For example, money to be used to build a school or to sponsor orphans will be allocated in accordance with the development of the project.

The ministry, which oversaw disaster relief work after the earthquake, said the use of the donated money and materials had been closely monitored to ensure a transparent and regulated practice.

There have been no reports of malpractice in the past year, the ministry said, citing latest report of the National Audit Office.

Also on Monday, a government white paper said concerted efforts of the entire country and the people throughout the world played a major role in helping quake-affected areas to overcome serious consequences of the disaster.