China now No 2 in world expressway mileage after US

HE Ministry of Transport recently announced that China now has 65,000 kilometres of highways across the nation by the end of 2009, making it the second largest highway network in the world after the United States, reports Xinhua.

China opened 4,719 kilometres of expressways in 2009 and launched construction of 16,000 kilometres of expressways last year as a result of increased investment in infrastructure, said a statement from the Transport Ministry.

According to the strategic plan for highway development in 2005, by 2020, China will establish a national highway network totalling 100,000 kilometres, about the length of American highways today.

China has maintained its second place in the world in terms of expressway lengths since 2001.The network could be achieved ahead of time based on the current development speed, said Transport Minister Li Shenglin.

(Source: www.schednet.com)