Xinjiang invests 63.5b yuan in road construction

URUMQI -- China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has invested more than 63.5 billion yuan (about $9.9 billion) in road construction from January to October this year, the regional government said Friday.

The regional transport authorities said that the total length of expressways in Xinjiang now exceeds 6,000 km. In the region, 85 out of 107 counties and cities now have access to expressways.

Xinjiang's transportation industry developed rapidly during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), with the total length of its highway network reaching 209,200 km.

The figure will likely increase to 220,000 km during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with an investment of 400 billion yuan in road construction, said the regional transport authorities.