2010-07-16 12:00

China plans to add 20,000 kilometers of operational railways to the network in the western regions in the next 10 years, involving a total investment of 1.5 trillion yuan ($221.51 billion), the China Business News reported Friday.

The railroad construction projects are part of the 23 major projects that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planner, announced recently, as part of the Western Development Program, the paper said.

The 23 projects will be launched this year, with a total investment of 682.2 billion yuan.

According to the plan, by 2020, the total length of China's railway network will exceed 120,000 kilometers, and the railways in the western part of China will be expanded to over 50,000 kilometers.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Railways, the total length of operational railways in the western regions increased from 20,000 kilometers in 2000 to 30,000 kilometers at the end of 2008, accounting for 36 percent of the total length of China's operational railways.