Tibet reports marked progress in infrastructure construction
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2004-10-24 17:04

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region has registered marked progress in its infrastructure with its major projects progressing smoothly.

Tibet invested heavily this year in building 52 of the 117 major infrastructure projects set by the Chinese government in June 2001; 16 had been completed by the end of September, according to the statistics from the regional development and reform committee.

The projects cover areas such as electricity, transportation, telecommunications, education and animal husbandry, which greatly improve the infrastructure in Tibet and boost the development of its economy.

By the end of September, the main track of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway laid reached 260 kilometers with a total investment of 3.38 billion yuan (407.23 million US dollars) and major hydro-electric plant projects were progressing smoothly, said Gaisang Cering, head of the regional development and reform committee.

The 1,142-km Qinghai-Tibet Railway project, scheduled to be completed in 2007, is believed to speed up Tibet's social and economic growth.

The region also manages to settle down 1,343 households of nomadic herdsmen and an increasing large number of Tibetans gain access to better education with the reconstruction and building ofprimary, high and vocational schools.