Delegation seeks funds for Tibet rail project

The construction of the Sichuan-Tibet railway should be incorporated into the country's next five-year plan, according to the Sichuan delegation at the annual session of the National People's Congress.

The delegation said on Tuesday that the central budget should include a special fund for the railway. The 1,800-kilometer line will connect Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, with Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet autonomous region, and construction will cost 200 billion yuan ($32 billion).

Last year, the central government approved the construction of sections linking Lhasa to Nyingchi in eastern Tibet, and Chengdu to Ya'an in western Sichuan.