Southwest China's Guizhou Province Thursday started construction of 11 expressways totalling over 1,000 km, or 18 percent of the current expressway length in the province.
The expressways will mainly be located in the eastern part of the province and will cost an estimated 166.4 billion yuan (24.2 billion U.S. dollars), Wang Bingqing, head of the provincial transport department, said at the announcement ceremony.
The projects are expected be finished by the end of 2020.
Among them, one connecting Duyun, capital of Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Qiannan, and Anshun city is the most costly, with a planned cost up to 43.5 billion yuan, Wang said.
After the road opens, major cities in the southwestern area such as Xichang, Zhaotong, Liupanshui and Anshun will have improved road access to China's better developed Pearl River Delta. The expressway will also connect to Shangri-La, a tourist resort in neighboring Yunnan Province.
Currently, Guizhou has 6,100 km of expressways. According to a provincial plan released October, the length will reach 10,000 km in the province around 2020.
