China began work on an extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway this past Sunday, AFP reported. The new track, extending 253 kilometers from the Tibetan capital of Lhasa to its second biggest city, Xigaze, should be completed in about four years at a cost of RMB13.3 billion (US$2 billion). The track, nearly half of which will be either in tunnels or on bridges, is seen by Beijing as an important step to developing and modernizing the region. While concern exists that the railway would disturb Tibet’s mostly untouched environment, government spokesmen assured that the railway was designed to detour around particularly sensitive areas as well as drinking water sources.
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