Central government's building projects in the Tibet Autonomous Region are creating more jobs and income for local people, said a senior Tibet official in Lhasa on Nov.22.

    Guo Jinlong, secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks at a meeting with Arthur Holcombe, chairman of the Tibet Poverty Alleviation Fund (TPAF) in the United States.

    Guo said Tibet attached great importance to creating jobs, and about 400,000 people participated in building projects with a direct income of 400 million yuan (about 48.3 million US dollars).

    Guo said the projects also created more business opportunities for the local people.

    The Qinghai-Tibet railway, to begin operation in 2007, will inject new vigor into local tourism, he said.

    About 30 percent of the local population were still illiterate,Guo said, noting that Tibet was trying to reduce the number of illiterate people by 100,000 annually.

    Guo hoped international institutions and organizations will provide more education assistance for Tibet to improve the professional skills of local residents.

    Holcombe praised Tibet's economic growth, which had been at over 10 percent a year for the past 10 years.

    He said this rapid economic growth provided many employment opportunities for Tibetan people, and he hoped Tibet would continue to speed up its economy.

    TPAF is a non-government organization cooperating with local Tibetan communities to implement programs in small business finance, professional skills training, entrepreneurship development and family health.