The Ministry of Railways plans to invest 127 billion yuan in the construction of railways in west China, of which 66 billion yuan, or 26 percent of the national total in railway constructions nationwide, will go to southwest China, Wang Lingshu, chief engineer of the ministry, recently stated, according to the latest Beijing Review.

According to Wang, the ministry conducted extensive research on the construction of railways in China’s western region, and listed it as the most important part of the five-year plan for 2001-05. It also outlined construction plans and general requirements, such as “developing internal and external channels, strengthening technical upgrading, expanding transportation capacity, and meeting development needs.”

“Railways in west China will extend a total of 25,000 km, while those in the southwestern area extend 11,400 km, or one-sixth of the national total,” said Wang.

He added that the ministry will accelerate the pace in constructing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Chongqing-Huaihua Railway and Dazhou-Wanyuan Railway, and will also do its best to begin constructing railways between Chongqing and Suining, Yongzhou and Yulin, and so on.

Railway construction of the southwestern area constitutes 30 percent of the country’s total investment in the previous decade, and 10,000 km railways had been put into use by the end of last year, an increase of 2,000 km over ten years ago.

(Xinhua News Agency November 14, 2001)