At the 2018 Transport Work Conference held on December 25, it was learned that the leading role of transport in poverty alleviation is becoming increasingly prominent. This year, China rebuilt or upgraded 285,000 km of rural roads, and 11,000 administrative villages newly gained access to paved roads. By 2020, the main lines of national expressways in poverty-stricken areas will be basically connected.
Data from the Ministry of Transport show that in 2017, investment in highways and waterways is expected to reach 2.27 trillion yuan, and 285,000 km of rural roads were rebuilt or upgraded. In poverty-stricken areas, 13,000 km of tourism roads, resource roads and industrial roads were built. An additional 11,000 administrative villages gained access to paved roads, and 8,473 administrative villages gained access to passenger bus services.
Next, the Ministry of Transport will increase its support for the construction of expressways and ordinary national highways in poverty-stricken areas. In 2018, it will also rebuild or upgrade 200,000 km of rural roads, add 5,000 administrative villages with access to paved roads, and add 5,000 administrative villages with access to passenger bus services. In particular, focusing on deeply impoverished areas such as Tibet, the Tibetan areas of four provinces, the four prefectures of southern Xinjiang, and the three regions and three prefectures of Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan, Nujiang Prefecture in Yunnan, and Linxia Prefecture in Gansu, it will strengthen the construction of external trunk corridors and internal corridor connections. By 2020, China will basically connect the main lines of national expressways in poverty-stricken areas, and counties with the necessary conditions will have access to second-class and above highways.