China poured 215.7 billion yuan into highway construction in 1999, according to Minister of Communications Huang Zhendong.

The country's total length of highways and expressways reached 1.33 million km and 11,000 km, respectively, with 58,000 km of new highways and 2,825 km of new expressways last year, said Huang at a work conference held here today.

China also set up 20 deep-water berths with a total handling capacity of 17.85 million tons, and an additional 1,236 km of river courses, he added.

Huang disclosed that the country's highway system carried 12.6 billion ridership and 9.9 billion tons of cargo last year, up 0.8 percent and 1.4 percent respectively on an annual basis.

In addition, the country's major sea ports handled 1.04 billion tons of cargo in 1999, up 13.9 percent on an annual basis, and 15 million TEU containers, a year-on-year increase of 39 percent. (Xinhua)