China to invest 120 billion yuan in second railway for Xinjiang
25/11/2008 16:47
China will spend 120 billion yuan (US$17.6 billion) to build a second
railway traversing the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according
to information from a meeting of the Xinjiang committee of the Communist Party
of China today.
Construction is expected to begin next year, with investment
from the central and local governments and other sources.
The passenger line
will go through Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang. It will facilitate the transport of
agricultural products and minerals, mainly coal, out of Xinjiang, by relieving
congestion on the existing line.
When the line is completed, the existing
1,892-km line from Lanzhou (Gansu's capital) to Xinjiang will be used for cargo
only.
The land resources department of Xinjiang announced last week a huge
coalfield with a reserve of 23 billion tonnes was discovered in the
region.
The field, about 800 meters underground, covers more than 300 sq km
in Shanshan County in the Turpan Basin.
Xinjiang has 40.5 percent of China's
coal reserves. With an annual production of 50 million tonnes, it is the
country's second-largest coal producer after the northern province of
Shanxi.
Xinhua
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