Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plans to
invest 10 billion yuan (US$1.29 billion) in the construction of
highways this year, said the region's department of communications
on Sunday.
An official with the scheme said that 7.66 billion yuan (US$988
million) will be used to build nearly 4,000 km of trunk roads,
including over 1,000 km of expressway.
The remaining 2.34 billion yuan (US$302 million) will be spent
on 5,600 km of highways in rural areas.
The investment will cover 31 projects, 10 of which are scheduled
to open to traffic by the end of this year.
Xinjiang plans to invest 55 billion yuan (US$7.1 billion) in the
construction of highways in the period 2006-2010, the official
added.
During the period 2001-2005, Xinjiang invested 33 billion yuan
(US$4.25 billion) in highway construction, increasing the total
length of highways in the region to nearly 90,000 km.
(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2007)