Highway construction targets set for 2008

China will build at least 5,000 km of expressways in 2008, bringing the total length of expressways in the country to almost 60,000 km, state media reported. This year’s infrastructure expansion, with a long-term plan to have 85,000 km of expressways by 2020, will also invest more tax revenue on building rural roads, linking up more remote villages and making travel easier for villagers. Last year, 423,000 km of rural roads were built or upgraded and 8,300 km of new expressways were built. At present, Medog in the southeastern part of Tibet is the last county in China that does not have a highway.