Tibet Speeds up Highway ConstructionTibet has newly built, rebuilt and renovated 2,800 kilometers of highways during the ninth Five-Year Plan period, which ended in 2000.The mileage of highways open to traffic in Tibet is 25,300 kilometers, with asphalt roads accounting for 2,000 kilometers. Now 80 percent of townships and 67 percent of villages are accessible to roads. During the 1996-2000 period, Tibet invested four billion yuan building highways, 2.3 times the amount during the eighth Five-Year Plan period, rising at an average annual rate of 25.8 percent. During that period, Tibet renovated and rebuilt the Sichuan-Tibet Highway, and No. 219 and No. 214 national highways, Tibet also focused on upgrading the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. In the next five years Tibet will focus on improving traffic conditions in agricultural and pastoral areas, and upgrading the quality of national highways and provincial highways. |
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