Backgrounder: Big Projects Proposed in 10th Five-Year PlanThe following are major projects proposed in the outline of China's 10th five-year plan for 2001 and 2005.-- The Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The railway runs 1,963 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa. The 845- kilometer section from Xining to Golmud opened to traffic in 1979. Construction of the remaining 1,118 kilometers is expected to be kicked off this year and completed in the next five years. -- Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway A planned high-speed railway from Beijing to Shanghai, running 1,307 kilometers. A feasibility study is now focused on whether to use the rail-and-wheel technology or the magnetic levitation technology. -- The Western Electricity for East Project A project involving the development of rich hydropower and coal resources in southwest China and northwest China and transmitting power generated to the coastal regions by three ultrahigh voltage transmission lines. The project includes three parts. In the north, electricity produced by pit power plants in Shanxi, Shaanxi and west Inner Mongolia and hydropower stations on the upper stream of the Yellow River will be transmitted to north China and Shandong Province. In the south, electricity from hydropower and pit power stations in the southwest and the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will be transmitted to Guangdong Province. In the center, electricity from the Three Gorges Hydropower Station will be transmitted to central and eastern China. -- The West-East Gas Pipeline Project A project involving the development of natural gas resources in the Tarim basin of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest and the laying of a pipeline to move the natural gas to Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai in the east. -- The South-North Water Diversion Project A water diversion project that will pump the rich water resources in southern China to the north to ease the shortage of water there. Planners are yet to make their final choice among the eastern, central and western routes but preparation will speed up for an early start of the project. |
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