Gansu Slates Huge Investment in Highway ConstructionNorthwest China's Gansu Province plans to spend 41.2 billion yuan (about US$4.96 billion) on improving transportation facilities during the Tenth Five-Year Plan Period (2001-2005), and increase highway length by 3,283 km.During the Ninth Five-Year Plan Period (1996-2000), the province invested 12.6 billion yuan in highway construction, increasing its total highway length by 4,150 km to 39,344 km. However, the highway density of Gansu is still low, standing at 8.66 km per square km, said a local transportation official. About 25.29 percent of all highways are substandard, the official said. While increasing highway length, the province will make greater efforts to improve highway standards. "Some major sections of the highways will be converted into expressways," he said. At the same time, part of the investment will be used to reconstruct many national and inter-provincial highways within the province totaling a length of 2,889 km. In addition, construction and reconstruction of rural roads will total 28,020 km across the province in 430 townships and 1, 963 villages. |
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