China will link up the road network in its western region by
introducing advanced road construction technology over the next two
decades, a high-ranking official said Sunday in Xi'an.
The upgrading of the road network will bring prosperity to western
areas as the Silk Road did to the region in ancient China, said
Zhang Chunxian, vice-minister of communications at the annual
meeting of China's Association of Science and Technology, which
opened today.
He
noted that by 2010, China is expected to complete the construction
of nine artery roads in the west, build about 150,000-km roads
linking each village. Meanwhile, the government will pool 700
billion yuan (US$84.3 billion) to renovate 350,000-km roads.
The ministry has approved an annual budget of at least 200 million
yuan (US$24 million) for the next two decades to tackle problems
related to road construction in the west and to train professional
construction workers.
In
the coming 10 to 15 years, Zhang said, China is likely to make
breakthroughs in the development of new road construction materials
and technology.
He
said that information technology will be applied to the management
of high-level expressways, and the designing and construction of
highways and tunnels in mountainous areas will be improved greatly
by then.
(People's Daily)