"As the province accelerates the pace of industrialization, investments will be a significant driving force in the long term," he said.

Given the staggering size of the plan, the question on everyone's lips is where the money will come from.

The commission said there are several sources of financing, including local government budgets, bank lending, self-financing of enterprises, bond issuance, as well as foreign direct investment.

"It is also necessary to lure private sector investments and smooth the way for the projects," said Xu.

But even if Hubei had the money, it remains unclear what lies ahead for its plans. After all, the investing spree comes against a wave of momentum to wean the economy off its dependence on investments.

Such astronomical investment is not a wise option since it will surely add fuel to risks of an overheating economy, said Cai Jiming, Director of the Center for Political Economy at Tsinghua University.

Jia Kang, Director of the Research Center for Fiscal Science under the Ministry of Finance, agreed. The problem of bad loans may arise if the infrastructure projects cannot generate enough revenues to repay the debt, he said.

Record-High Returns

China Central Huijin Investment Ltd., the domestic investment arm of the country's sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp., is expected to earn over 70 billion yuan ($10.25 billion) in dividends from the country's big three lenders in 2009, said a Shanghai Securities News report.

The record-high dividends were a result of improved performance by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Bank of China. They reaped total net profits of 317 billion yuan ($46.4 billion) in 2009, up 18 percent from the previous year.

Central Huijin sought a capital injection of $50 billion from the government, in an effort to boost its capital base and prepare itself for the impending public offering of Chinese lenders, according to earlier media reports.

Golden Age

China's consumer gold demand is on track to double by tonnage terms by 2015, drawing strength from an economic boom, said a recent report by the World Gold Council (WGC).

"Now one of the world's largest economies, China has rapidly become a prominent gold market. However, our analysis confirms that significant untapped growth potential exists in the Chinese gold market," said Marcus Grubb, Managing Director of Investment, Research and Marketing at the WGC, in the report.

Gold consumption in China exceeded $14 billion in 2009, as the economic take-off boosted income, making fancy jewelry a new "must have" for numerous families. Jumping aboard the golden caravan are also risk-wary investors seeking a safe haven from the fickle stock market and inflationary jitters.

But China's per-capita ownership of the glittering metal was still nowhere close to that of developed countries, indicating deep potential for the industry.

The biggest question now lingers on supplies as the country's known gold reserve could be exhausted within six years, said the WGC.

The only solution is to pump investments into mining and exploration, it added.

Harbin Trade Fair

The 21st China Harbin International Economic and Trade Fair will be held on June 15-19, 2010, the organizers announced at a press conference in Beijing on March 26.

As one of China's largest-scale foreign trade fairs, it has been successfully held for 20 consecutive years. This year's event will have 3,000 booths for exhibitors from more than 80 countries and regions of the world.

"The fair will strengthen its efforts to provide a better platform for economic and trade cooperation between China and the rest of the world," said Sun Yao, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province, at the press conference.

Last year, the fair defied the ripple effect of the financial crisis to witness signed deals worth more than $100 billion, hitting a record high.