The Chinese central government says it will support 24 development projects in Tibet this year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Work has already begun on one of the projects -- the renovation of the West Jinzhu Road in Lhasa.

Some US$28 million has been injected into the renovation project. On its completion, the West Jinzhu Road will be extended to a 23 meter wide, six lanes modern road, with a total length of over 8 kilometers.

Geng Youping, supervisor general of West Jinzhu Road Renovation Project, said, "When the project is completed, the transportation situation from Lhasa downtown to the Airport, and to the Qinghai-Tibet highway will be largely improved. The road will be a green channel and guest-meeting road in Lhasa."

The 24 construction projects cover a wide variety of fields, including agriculture, industry, communication, energy and public health. All the projects are run by the Lhasa Development Bureau and will receive some US$780 million from the central government.

(CCTV.com February 13, 2005)