East China's Jiangxi Province is planning to kick off 14 railway projects by 2012 to improve transportation conditions, the local railway authority said Friday.

The projects, involving an estimated investment of 116.52 billion yuan (17 billion U.S. dollars), will bring Jiangxi's total rail length to 3,500 kilometers upon completion.

According to a railway construction plan compiled by the provincial development and reform commission late last year, the province is expected to have 4,000 km of railway by 2015 and more than 4,500 km by 2020.

According to the plan, railways are expected to reach all the province's counties, main tourist destinations and key industrial and mining zones as well as economically-developed towns by 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2009)