Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 12, 2004
China put in 350bln yuan in road construction last year
China invested 350 billion yuan in road construction in 2003, a sum 11 percent up over the previous year. The nation saw a newly added road mileage of 46,000 kilometers, including 4,600 kilometers expressway. The nation's total road mileage was extended to 1.81 million kilometers, including nearly 30,000 expressway, as is learned from a national communications work meeting held on January 11 in Beijing.
China invested 350 billion yuan in road construction in 2003, a sum 11 percent up over the previous year. The nation saw a newly added road mileage of 46,000 kilometers, including 4,600 kilometers expressway. The nation's total road mileage was extended to 1.81 million kilometers, including nearly 30,000 expressway, as is learned from a national communications work meeting held on January 11 in Beijing.
By the end of 2003, said communications minister Zhang Chunxian, four national trunk lines, including two "vertical" and two "horizontal", (Tongjiang-Sanya, Beijing-Zhuhai, Lianyungang-Horgos and Shanghai-Chengdu) had opened to traffic. Taking into account the already finished three important sections (Beijing-Shenyang, Beijing-Shanghai and the southwest passage to sea), the first-stage construction of national trunk lines had all been completed. Now the nation has 16 provinces and autonomous regions boasting an expressway mileage over 1,000 kilometers.
The Ministry of Communications injected 71.8 billion yuan in rebuilding 102,000 kilometers inter-county roads and rural roads in 2003. By now, except Tibet Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, asphalt roads have been extended into every county in the west region. Asphalt roads are also built into another 1,000-strong towns in the central region and another 23,491 villages in the east region.