SANTIAGO. March 12. KAZINFORM. Conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera took office as Chile's president on Thursday, tasked with rebuilding the country after a massive earthquake killed hundreds of people just 12 days ago; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

A series of strong aftershocks rattled central Chile just minutes before Pinera was sworn in in the Congress building in the coastal city of Valparaiso.

The 8.8-magnitude quake killed hundreds of people and caused infrastructure damage across much of south-central Chile, threatening to undermine Pinera's election pledges to boost economic growth to 6 percent a year and to create a million jobs.

"The main challenge is to identify priorities to swiftly start the reconstruction effort. That will be the key variable that will be evaluated during his administration," said Alberto Ramos, senior economist with Goldman Sachs in New York.

"This could be the (hurricane) Katrina of President Pinera ... in terms of how the population perceives the relief and reconstruction effort."

Some analysts see the damage shaving 0.5 to 2.0 percentage points off this year's economic growth, while others are holding to their original GDP forecasts of around 5 percent.

Survivors are praying Pinera, 60, gets it right; Kazinform cites China Daily. See www.chinadaily.com.cn