China plans to complete the reconstruction of mudslide-devastated Zhouqu County in northwest China's Gansu Province before the end of 2012.

Houses will be rebuilt and infrastructure will be restored in both urban and rural areas of the county before the end of 2012, the State Council, China's cabinet, said Wednesday on the central government's official web portal, www.gov.cn.

A massive rain-triggered mudslide slammed Zhouqu on Aug. 8, leaving 1,501 dead and 264 missing. It was the most deadly mudslide to strike the country since the founding of New China in 1949.

The plan estimates reconstruction costs at 5 billion yuan (about 750 million U.S. dollars).

The central government will mostly finance the reconstruction but donations, bank loans and other resources will also be needed, the plan said.

Since Zhouqu was over-populated, some of the 143,000 residents will be settled elsewhere. About 15,000 people will move to Fengdie District, a newly-built district in Zhouqu. Also, about 8,000 people will settle in Lanzhou City, the provincial capital, according to the plan.

Further, a total of 4,100 houses will be rebuilt and 1,875 will be renovated, with the latter to be completed by the end of 2010, according to the plan.

Dongjie Village was one of the hardest hit villages in the county. Zhang Dongcheng of Dongjie Village said, "We have been looking forward to the plan. The plan gives us hope and we are confident that the new Zhouqu will be very beautiful."

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