Reconstruction in the quake zones shattered by the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 will give priority to transport facilities, the person drafting the State Council's post-quake reconstruction regulation said Thursday.

"The May 12 earthquake has done great damage to the roads in the quake zones," Cao Kangtai, director with the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, told a press conference Thursday afternoon.

"The reason why we give transportation top priority in the post-quake reconstruction regulation is these roads are vital for the reconstruction of other public facilities. They serve as a major access for construction materials."

He added reconstruction of power supply facilities would be another focus of the work at hand, while housing, schools, hospitals and other public facilities would also be addressed.

Cao urged local authorities to level up protection of ethnic cultural relics during the quake relief and post-quake reconstruction.

"A lot of cultural relics, especially those of China's ethnic groups, are seriously damaged during the strong quake. For instance, the quake-ravaged Beichuan County is China's only Qiang autonomous county. The Beichuan Qiang Nationality Museum, the only one in the entire country, and its 500-plus exhibits were also destroyed in the earthquake."

Local authorities should strictly follow the State Council's post-quake reconstruction regulation to mount more efforts in the cleaning, repair and protection of cultural relics in the quake zone.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2008)