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 | Thursday, April 27, 2000, updated at 16:11(GMT+8) | ||||||||||||
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China | ||||||||||||
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China to Build First Cross-Desert ExpresswayChina is to build its first cross- desert expressway in Shaanxi Province, as part of efforts to implement the central government's strategy to boost the economy of western China.This was revealed at the Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between East and West China held April 4-9 in this capital of the northwest China province. The expressway will stretch from Yulin City to Jingbian County, cutting across the 10,000 sq km Mu Us Desert, on the borders of Shaanxi and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The 118-km-long expressway is to expected to cost 1.9 billion yuan. Early-stage preparations have been completed, and construction has commenced on certain sections. Its upper speed limit will be 100 kph. Construction of the expressway will be given top priority on the agenda of infrastructure construction in the western part of China. Overseas investors are welcome to participate in its construction in the forms of exclusive investment, joint venture or cooperation. The government of Yulin Prefecture has announced a series of incentives for overseas investors, said Hu Yunge, an official of the prefecture's communications bureau. Yulin Prefecture, in northern Shaanxi, is one of China's major energy and heavy chemical bases. It is home to the country's largest land-based gas field, with a proven reserve of 340 billion cu m. The Shenfu-Dongsheng Coalfield in the northern part of Shaanxi and the southern part of Inner Mongolia has a verified coal reserve of 140 billion tons. However, poor transportation facilities have been a key factor hindering economic growth in both Shaanxi and the western part of China as a whole. Consequently, the central government regards infrastructure construction as a matter of top concern in economic development of western China. Shaanxi plans to invest 80 billion yuan in infrastructure projects this year, according to a provincial spokesman. The province is building four expressways, and plans to build another six. By 2010, the mileage of expressways in Shaanxi will come to 3,074 km, equivalent to the total length of expressways in an average medium-sized country in Europe. Shaanxi, which served as the capital of 13 dynasties, is a pivot linking eastern and western China. It will be the main beneficiary of China's ongoing move to invigorate the resource- rich, economically backward western China, according to specialists.
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