China Development Bank to loan billions in Xiongan New Area

Photo taken on April 9, 2017 shows a village in Baiyangdian, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in north China, in Anxin County, north China's Hebei Province. China announced the plan for Xiongan New Area officially on April 1, 2017. The new area will span Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province, eventually covering 2,000 square kilometers. (Xinhua/Mou Yu)

China Development Bank (CDB), a state-owned policy bank, said on Thursday that it will provide loans of 130 billion yuan (18.9 billion U.S. dollars) to support the development of Xiongan New Area.

The loan will be used in building traffic networks, infrastructure and ecological improvement in Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province, said the bank.

By the end of March, the CDB had loaned more than 800 billion yuan to support the development of Hebei Province.

The plan for the Xiongan New Area was officially announced on April 1. The new area, some 100 kilometers south of Beijing, will eventually cover 2,000 square kilometers, with a population of 2 to 2.5 million. It is expected to help shift out Beijing's non-capital functions.

It is designed to be a green, livable and modern urban area, a region led by innovation-driven development, a demonstration area of balanced development, and a pioneering region of open development.