Fixed asset investment in urban areas in 1st 2 months

China's investment in fixed¹ assets in urban districts totaled 529.4 billion yuan (66.1 billion U.S. dollars) in the first two months of 2006, up 26.6 percent over the same period of last year.

　　According to a monthly report released Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), investment made by state-owned enterprises was 250 billion yuan, up 16.4 percent, while investment of the real estate sector² surged 19.7 percent year-on-year to 143.6 billion yuan in the first two months.

　　Investment in agricultural sector totaled 2.4 billion yuan, up34.5 percent. Investment in industry and service trade reached 219.5 billion yuan and 307.5 billion yuan, up 28.8 percent and 25 percent respectively.

　　NBS statistics show that in the first two months, investment in coal mining and dressing³ rose to 3.9 billion yuan, up 27.3 percent.

　　China's investment in railway transportation soared 244.8 percent year-on-year to 5 billion yuan. The investment in ferrous metal and non-ferrous metal sectors⁴ stood at 16.2 billion yuan and 4.2 billion yuan, up 1.6 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively