BEIJING - China's central government has allocated 58 billion yuan ($9.4 billion) for public rental housing projects for 2013, the Ministry of Finance announced Thursday.

The money will be used to subsidize investment, discounted government loans and capital funds of the projects.

Some 26.31 billion yuan and 24.18 billion yuan, or 45.4 and 41.7 percent of the total, were allocated to central and western regions, respectively. Eastern China, the country's most developed part, received the remaining 7.51 billion yuan, according to the ministry.

With the provision of government-owned public land and support from public finance, public rental housing is welfare accommodation for the country's medium-and low-income earners.