Currently, key construction projects in multiple regions have refreshed their 'progress bars'. At the same time, multiple funds, such as ultra long term special treasury bond and local bonds, have been put in place to continue to provide strong support for project construction. Experts believe that under the "two-way rush" of funding projects, infrastructure investment is expected to show a rapid growth trend, better playing the role of a "stabilizer" for economic operation.

Major projects are progressing in an orderly manner

Recently, several key projects in transportation, water conservancy, energy and other fields have made positive progress.

The transportation infrastructure is constantly improving. Recently, the Yijun Tunnel, the longest tunnel on the entire Xi'an Yan'an high-speed railway line, was successfully completed. With a total length of 17509 meters, it is the longest single tunnel double track high-speed railway tunnel in Shaanxi Province. The completion of the Yijun Tunnel marks the end of the West Extension High speed Railway Tunnel Project, creating favorable conditions for the subsequent construction of ballastless tracks.

New progress has been made in the construction of water conservancy projects. The diversion tunnel of Yudonghe Reservoir Project in Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province has been successfully completed recently, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent cofferdam construction, dam interception, and the smooth progress of the entire project construction period. The Yudonghe Reservoir Project, as an important livelihood project, has a total investment of 765 million yuan, a designed storage capacity of 28.4 million cubic meters, and a beneficial storage capacity of 24.12 million cubic meters. It consists of two parts: the reservoir hub and the irrigation area project. The project is expected to complete the main construction in 2028 and be put into use in 2029.

Major clean energy projects are being accelerated. Recently, China's first multi energy complementary comprehensive energy base with a capacity of 10 million kilowatts and the second batch of 2.7725 million kilowatts of new energy projects supporting the "Long Power into Shandong" initiative, the Huanxian Energy base of Huanxian, Gansu Province, officially started construction. The project plans to install 2.2329 million kilowatts of wind power and 539600 kilowatts of photovoltaic power, and will be constructed simultaneously in six blocks. The project is constructed using the "wind and solar on site" approach, which improves the reliability and flexibility of project operation through multi energy complementarity, ensures the consumption of new energy, and lays the foundation for the reliable and efficient operation of the project in the later stage.

Major projects are progressing in an orderly manner, driving steady growth in investment. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, from January to July, the total planned investment in projects with a total investment of 100 million yuan or more increased by 7.6% year-on-year, with a growth rate 4.0 percentage points higher than the total investment and driving the total investment growth by 4.1 percentage points.

Adequate financial security

With the accelerated planning and preparation of major projects, multiple funding sources will ensure that the physical workload is formed as soon as possible.

On the one hand, projects such as additional issuance of treasury bond and post disaster recovery and reconstruction accelerated to form physical workload, and infrastructure investment kept growing. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, infrastructure investment increased by 4.9% year-on-year from January to July, with a growth rate 1.3 percentage points higher than total investment, driving a 1.0 percentage point increase in total investment. Among them, investment in water management industry increased by 28.9%, investment in air transportation industry increased by 25.5%, and investment in railway transportation industry increased by 17.2%.

On the other hand, the orderly issuance of ultra long term special treasury bond will effectively guarantee the construction of "dual" projects. Zhang Shixin, Deputy Secretary General of the National Development and Reform Commission, recently introduced that a list of the first two batches of "dual" construction projects for this year has been issued, mainly focusing on accelerating the realization of high-level scientific and technological self-reliance, promoting regional coordinated development, enhancing the ability to guarantee food and energy resources security, promoting high-quality population development, and comprehensively promoting the construction of a beautiful China. Efforts are being made to expedite the allocation of funds and the acceleration of project construction.

In addition, the progress of issuing and using new special bonds will be accelerated. According to statistics from Huajin Securities, 35 provinces and cities specifically designated in the national plan have disclosed their plans for issuing local bonds in the third quarter, with a total planned issuance of 275.07 billion yuan of local bonds, including 168.03 billion yuan of newly added special bonds.

Wu Zhiwu, a researcher at the Research and Development Department of Zhongzheng Pengyuan, believes that in order to ensure the achievement of the annual economic development goals, it is expected that the issuance of local bonds will accelerate in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, considering that the issuance progress of local bonds has significantly accelerated in May and June, and most of the newly issued local bonds are generally completed by the end of October, it is expected that the third quarter will usher in a peak period of issuance.

Infrastructure investment growth is expected to accelerate

Experts believe that with the support of multiple factors, the growth of infrastructure investment is expected to accelerate.

It is expected that with the acceleration of local government special bond issuance and the weakening of weather disturbances, infrastructure investment and physical quantity in August are expected to further improve, "said Zhang Wenlang, Chief Macro Analyst of the Research Department of China International Capital Corporation.

Wang Qing, Chief Macro Analyst of Dongfang Jincheng, stated that with the launch of a new round of stable growth policies and a significant acceleration in government bond issuance in the third quarter, the cumulative growth rate of infrastructure investment (excluding electricity) is expected to rebound to over 5% in the later stage, and the role of infrastructure investment as a macroeconomic stabilizer in the second half of the year will be more prominent.

Looking ahead, with the acceleration of policies and the increase of positive factors in funds and projects, infrastructure investment is expected to continue its rapid growth trend in the future, "said a report released by China Merchants Bank Research Institute.

Liu Aihua, spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that at present, major measures such as "double" and "two new" are being accelerated. In the future, as the construction of ultra long term special treasury bond, central budget investment, special bonds of local governments, and the issuance of additional treasury bond by the government in 2023 accelerate and accelerate the formation of physical workload, the amplification effect of government investment will continue to release.