The State Grid Corp. of China (SGCC) on Wednesday announced that is to allocate an extra 2.73 billion yuan (US$399.7 million) to its scheduled budget this year on electricity grid equipment procurement.

However, the company did not disclose the specific figure for its total annual budget.

The Beijing-based company said 1.4 billion yuan would be earmarked for city electricity grid upgrading in central and western parts of China and another 1.33 billion yuan would go to the rural electricity grid upgrading in these regions, said Zhang Haiyang, head of information of the company.

The state-owned SGCC said it would reveal the detailed investment scheme in the following days.

The spending is part of the 4 trillion yuan stimulus package unveiled by the State Council, or cabinet, on Sunday to spur economic growth.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2008)