A key logistics center along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was set up Monday in Nagqu Township in Tibet Autonomous Region.

Based on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the logistics center covers Lhasa, Qamdo, Ali and northern Xigaze, and provides services on freight transportation, storage, packaging, processing, distribution and information transaction.

A glimpse of the Nagqu logistics center of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in Nagqu, Tibet, June 25, 2009. [Xinhua]

The center is 5 km away from urban Nagqu Township and about 7 km long and 1.5 km wide The project will help animal husbandry development and mineral exploitation in Nagqu, said Lu Yongzhong, general manager of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation.

The center is expected to handle 2.2 million tons of cargo by 2015 and 3.1 million tons by 2020, including raw minerals, local herbs, building materials and commodity goods, he said.

"We invested 26 million yuan in building a meat production factory here. The output value is expected to reach 130 million yuan every year," said Yang Jing, board chairman of Lhasa Tian'en Technology Development Co Ltd.

"It will promote stock-breeding development and increase the income of farmers and herdsmen," Yang said.

With investment from the Ministry of Railways, the center broke ground on Sept. 28, 2007.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, running 1,956 km from Xining in Qinghai Province to Lhasa in Tibet, was officially put into operation in July 2006 and is the highest railway in the world.

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2009)