The lawmakers made the call during deliberations at the ongoing fourth session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing.

Li Yunguang, head of the communications department of the provincial government, said the province has seen the most rapid development of its road network in history over the last five years.

However, he said in many places, backward road network has prevented further development of trade between Yunnan and neighboring Myanmar, Thailand, the Laos and others.

He urged the government approving international passage projects that have been discussed for years as soon as possible.

One of the projects is the Pan-Asian Railway, which involves the construction of a railway running through Yunnan to the Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

Another project is a highway from Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, to Bangkok. A 200-kilometer section of the highway on the Chinese territory remains to be built.

Yunnan governor Li Jiating warned that the province risks the danger of missing the huge opportunities offered by the central government's west China development strategy, if it fails to further improve its transport infrastructure.

(People’s Daily 03/15/2001)