Ecological investment soars on plateau's highway project

Investment in ecological restoration and protection along a 96-kilometer stretch of the Lhasa-Nyingchi highway has hit 440 million yuan ($67.2 million), almost nine times the originally planned amount, an official said.

While the construction company invested 170 million yuan, the majority of the work was outsourced to special environmental protection companies, according to Song Xiancai, head of the planning and contract section of Nyingchi prefecture in the Tibet autonomous region.

The highway section, along with another 63 kilometers near Lhasa, opened to traffic in September 2015 after 28 months of construction.