Expressways link every city in east China province

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 ◆ Expressways link every city in east China province

Expressways have connected all 17 cities in east China's Shandong province, making it the first province in China to be completely linked in this way, according to Zhou Qiutian, director of the provincial communication bureau.

Shandong's first expressway, starting from the provincial capital of Jinan and ending at the scenic port resort of Qingdao, opened to traffic back in 1993. To date, the total length of the province's expressways is 2,411 kilometers, about one-ninth of the national total.

Statistics show that more than 50 billion yuan (some 6 billion US dollars) have been invested into the construction of 1,498 km of expressways in the province since 1998, becoming a driving force behind the province's economic development.

It is estimated that since 1998, investment increased to 54.9 billion yuan (6.6 billion US dollars) of Shandong's GDP.

Construction is continuing on in Shandong province where the total length of expressways is expected to exceed 3,000 km next year.