China pledged Thursday to extend its loan support for African nations to improve their backward infrastructure, a bottleneck that hinders the development in the continent.

According to a white paper released by the Chinese government, another 10 billion U.S. dollars of preferential loans will be provided to Africa between 2010 and 2012, in addition to the 5 billion U.S. dollars of preferential loans and exports buyers' credit provided from 2007 to 2009.

These loans would be used to finance some major projects such as an airport in Mauritius, the housing in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and the Bui Hydropower Station in Ghana, said the white paper on Sino-African economic and trade cooperation, released for the first time by China.

The paper said the Chinese government attaches importance to helping Africa build houses, roads, bridges, railways, telecommunications, and other systems as the total number of infrastructure projects assisted by China exceeded 500 by the end of 2009.

Projects such as the 1,860-km-long Tanzania-Zambia railway built in the 1970s, the Cairo International Conference Center, the Belet Uen-Burao Highway in Somalia, and the Friendship Harbor in Mauritania all indicated China's role in helping the African nations improve their infrastructure.

The paper said China encourages the participation in infrastructure construction from its enterprises. It also said the presence of Chinese companies in the continent has benefited local people in boosting employment and education.