A five-year blueprint was mapped out by South China's Hainan
Province to stress the need of accelerating highway and port
construction in a bid to promote local economic development.
The province will invest a total of 17 billion yuan (about
US$2.125 billion) in infrastructure construction during the
country's 11th Five Year Guidelines (2006-2010) for National
Economic and Social Development.
According to a work conference of the Hainan provincial
government in the sector of traffic reform, 11 billion yuan of the
total investment will be used to build or rebuild highways linking
all the cities and villages in rural areas across the province.
By 2010, Hainan will build a network of tar-paved roads covering
85 percent of villages across the rural areas. The traffic network
will provide economically-backward counties and remote villages
access to the outside world.
Meanwhile, the province will use the rest of 6 six billion yuan
to construct shipping facilities and berths at its major ports of
Haikou and Sanya.
In 2006 alone, the province will pour 2.7 billion yuan into
building more than 3,000 km of highways and roads in rural
areas.
China is making efforts to accelerate rural reform and
governments at all levels are working hard to improve agricultural
infrastructure, such as road construction, telecommunications and
electricity networks.
(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2006)