$79.8b infrastructure program begins in Gansu, China

A huge infrastructure project kicked off in China's northwest province of Gansu, which will facilitate trade and people exchanges between China and central Asia.

Though the province does not share its borders with any central Asian countries, it will be an important stretch of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The six-year, 500-billion-yuan (79.8 billion U.S. dollars) development project will add more than 60,000 kilometers of road, including 4,070 km expressways, and improve the connectivity of the existing transportation network.

The provincial authorities have not released the funding source, but officials told Xinhua local government-backed financing vehicle Gansu Provincial Highway Aviation Tourism Investment Group had invested in the project. Road construction receives fiscal support from the central government.

The province is also expected to build 12 civilian airports in the next six years, expanding the reach of its air service to 82 percent of the province's population, at 25.57 million in 2010.

Since the third quarter of last year, China's top economic planner has approved a slew of transportation projects to boost regional connectivity. It also launched a 40 billion U.S dollar fund backed by the country's foreign reserves to support infrastructure building in countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.