China not yet decided on railways debt: Official

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China has not yet decided who will take on the heavy debt load of the railways ministry, a senior official said on Monday, a day after the government announced it was dissolving the scandal-plagued ministry.

The railway restructuring plan, issued during China's annual National People's Congress, or parliament, is designed to end long-standing inefficiencies and address the ministry's reputation for insularity and corruption.

It gives China's transport ministry duties for railways planning, with safety and standards overseen by a state railways administration under the ministry. Commercial operations will be hived off to a newly established railways corporation.

"This reform deals first with separating the administrative and commercial (duties). Resolving this newly established enterprise's debt will be left for the next step," said Wang Feng, deputy director of the State Commission for Public Sector Reform.