China to Spend 180 Billion Yuan on Highways This YearChina will invest 180 billion yuan (21.7 billion U.S. dollars) in building highways this year, according to Li Juchang, vice-minister of communications.Li said at a recent national work conference on highway building held in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China, that 4,000 km of highways will be completed this year. Last year, China built 73,200 km of highways, increasing the country's total highway mileage to 1.35 million km. China will make great efforts to build up a comprehensive highway network nationwide, Li said, adding that this means more remote towns and villages will have access to better roads. Interprovincial highways and roads in rural areas will be a major part of a ten-year construction plan. By the end of 2010, eight highways will run from the east to the west, and 195,000-km interprovincial highways and 150,000-km roads in rural areas will be constructed. |
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