[photopress:expressway_s.jpg,full,alignright]A plan drawn up by the Ministry of Communications suggests the idea is to extend the country’s expressway network by 85,000 kilometers in the next 30 years at an estimated cost of RMB2 trillion yuan ($250 billion).
The way it divides up is RMB390 billion in eastern China, RMB520 billion in central areas, and RMB1.09 trillion in west China.
If implemented there will be 42,000 kilometers by the end of 2007, and 50,000 to 55,000 kilometers by 2010.
This plan aims at integrating expressways and local roads to meet transport needs and support economic growth.
The expressway network will connect all provincial capitals and cities of 500,000 people or more by the end of 2010, and link major economic hubs such as the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Sea Rim areas.
Economic growth has resulted in increasing traffic volumes, with the number of motor vehicles rising by 15 to 30 percent annually and a 30-fold increase in private vehicle ownership from 1985 to 2004.
Source: Xinhua