Southwest China's Sichuan Province will invest a total of 11.7 billion yuan into highway construction by the end of this year.

Local sources said during the country's Ninth Five-Year Plan period (1996-2000), the province had invested 51 billion yuan in the sector and built 12 major expressways totaling 1,000 kilometers in length.

By the end of last year, the province's highway length reached 90,000 kilometers.

In the next five years, the province will make greater effort to form a comprehensive highway network linking all major cities and countries as well as interprovincial areas within five to eight hours by car.

The booming highway construction will further promote local economic development and trade cooperation between the province and its neighboring areas.

(Eastday.com.cn 07/07/2001)