Rebuilding the cities 'very complicated' job

Officials in Sichuan, the region devastated a year ago by a massive earthquake, admitted yesterday that the rebuilding effort is not progressing as quickly in urban areas as it is in rural regions.

"Rebuilding of rural houses was expected to be finished by the end of September, while those in cities would be completed by next May," said Yu Wei, a provincial government spokesman, who spoke at a press conference days before the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that left 68,712 dead, including 5,335 students. "The complicated issues in regards to property rights are the main difficulty influencing the progress of reconstruction in cities," he said.

More than 241,000 houses in rural areas within the quake zone and 105,000 urban and township apartments are under construction, Yu noted.