Construction of China's first desert expressway makes progress

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

. 

 ◆ Construction of China's first desert expressway makes progress

Construction of China's first desert expressway is well under way and scheduled to be completed in 2003.

The expressway stretches from Yulin City to Jingbian County in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, cutting across the 10,000-square-kilometre Mu Us Desert, on the border of Shaanxi Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The 134-kilometre expressway has 17 bridges, 30 overpasses and 200 culverts, and will be built at a cost of 1.76 billion yuan (US$212 million). Trees and windbreaks will be built along the expressway.

By mid-October, the earthwork of the expressway was completed. Work on the overpasses and culverts is near completion.

Operation of the expressway will promote economic growth in poor areas of northern Shaanxi and serve as an important part on the trunk line between western China and other parts of the country.

Yulin, in northern Shaanxi, is one of China's major energy and heavy chemical bases. It is home to the country's largest land-based gasfield, with a verified reserve of 340 billion cubic metres.

The Shenfu-Dongsheng Coalfield in the northern part of Shaanxi and the southern part of Inner Mongolia has verified coal reserves of 140 billion tons. (xinhua)