Rural road boost: China

The Chinese authorities are unveiling plants to build 1.2 million km of highways in rural areas as part of the country’s 11th five year plan. During the 2006-2010 period, new asphalt or concrete roads will link up to 7,530 townships and 89,970 administrative villages, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. The aim is to provide access by surfaced roads to all of China’s townships. The authorities are helping to fund this infrastructure investment through vehicle purchase taxes, equivalent to some US$3.1 billion this year. In 2006 the country built and improved a record 325,000km of rural roads.