Tibet to spend 1.5 bln yuan building roads to monasteries

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region will earmark 1.5 billion yuan (US$238 million) on road construction for easier access to the region's monasteries, traffic authorities said Sunday.

By 2015, asphalt roads will to be extended to more than 70 percent of the region's monasteries with the help of the funds, said a written statement issued by the region's traffic transportation department.

Road access to every monastery of the region is expected to be available by 2020, the statement said.

Tibet has more than 1,700 registered monasteries and venues for religious activities with about 46,000 monks and nuns, government statistics show.

The plateau region is known as "the roof of the world" with an average altitude of over 4,000 meters, and road construction is more difficult and costly than other parts of China.