China will speed up approvals for nuclear power plants this year, the China Daily reported Monday.

The country expects to begin work on plants with a total capacity of 800 gigawatts this year--up from 221 gigawatts last year, the paper said citing the National Energy Administration.

It is part of a plan to stimulate the economy with targeted infrastructure projects. The country will also speed up construction of five new railway lines

It plans to start work on ultrahigh-voltage power lines to take electricity generated in the sparsely populated west to the east, the China Daily said.

Newspaper website: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/

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