LHASA, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The government of Tibet Autonomous Region will spend 1.6 billion yuan (about 200 million U.S. dollars) this year on the development of rural areas.

Ding Ye, director of the regional financial bureau, on Thursday told Xinhua that 621 million yuan (about 77 million dollars) would be spent on improving the housing of 52,000 families.

The bureau also plans to spend 205 million yuan (about 25.6 million dollars) on poverty relief work in the townships. The remaining funds will be injected into developing infrastructure and grain subsidies.