A five-year blueprint was mapped out by South China's Hainan Province to stress the need of accelerating highway and port construction in a bid to promote local economic development.

 

The province will invest a total of 17 billion yuan (about US$2.125 billion) in infrastructure construction during the country's 11th Five Year Guidelines (2006-2010) for National Economic and Social Development.

 

According to a work conference of the Hainan provincial government in the sector of traffic reform, 11 billion yuan of the total investment will be used to build or rebuild highways linking all the cities and villages in rural areas across the province.

 

By 2010, Hainan will build a network of tar-paved roads covering 85 percent of villages across the rural areas. The traffic network will provide economically-backward counties and remote villages access to the outside world.

 

Meanwhile, the province will use the rest of 6 six billion yuan to construct shipping facilities and berths at its major ports of Haikou and Sanya.

 

In 2006 alone, the province will pour 2.7 billion yuan into building more than 3,000 km of highways and roads in rural areas.

 

China is making efforts to accelerate rural reform and governments at all levels are working hard to improve agricultural infrastructure, such as road construction, telecommunications and electricity networks.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 18, 2006)