THE Italian government approved measures to create over 3 billion euros (US$4 billion) of funds for building roads and railway lines.

The infrastructure spending will create 30,000 jobs, the government said late Saturday. Other incentives include subsidized loans for as much as 5 billion euros for small companies that buy machinery and a reform of the nation's civil court proceedings to accelerate the resolution of disputes.

Prime Minister Enrico Letta, on the job since April, is under pressure to revive an economy that has been in a slump since 2011. The European Union should focus more on growth and job creation and less on austerity after cuts to trim Italy's deficit worsened the economic contraction, Letta has said.