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Minister of communications Huang Zhendong said that China has made
notable progress in the construction of traffic facilities over
the past five years.
Huang made the remark at a recent national meeting attended by traffic
administrative officials, held in Zhengzhou, capital of central
China's Henan Province.
Initial statistics show that 954 billion yuan (US$114.9 billion)
were used in constructing traffic facilities during the past five
years, accounting for 8.5 percent of China's total fixed assets
investment.
Of the total number, 885.8 billion yuan (US$106.7 billion) were
used to build highways. The total length of China's highways has
been extended from the 1.16 million kilometers in 1995 to 1.4 million
kilometers today. Expressways now total 16,000 kilometers compared
with 2,141 kilometers five years ago.
At present, 98.3 percent of China's towns and 90 percent of its
administrative villages have access to highways.
China has built 96 deep-water berths in the past five years, bringing
the total number to 599.
Coastal harbors in China now boast a combined handling capacity
of 1.38 billion tons annually, 72.5 percent more than that for 1995.
Shanghai harbor, for example, can handle 200 million tons of cargo
a year.
Huang Zhendong said that improved traffic facilities have greatly
enhanced the transportation by highway and waterway.
(Xinhua 01/18/01)
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