(TibetanReview.net, Apr13’22) – China’s history of road building in Tibet began in tandem with its invasion of the Plateau region right after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and it never stopped, given the vital importance of transport infrastructure for strengthening occupational control and exploiting resources. And so, the local Chinese government will invest 21.6 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in the transportation and traffic sector in Tibet autonomous region (TAR) this year, according to China’s official chinadaily.com.cn Apr 13.
Last year, the region allocated more than 36 billion yuan to transportation, completed 20 billion yuan of fixed asset investment in highways and extended the region’s highway network to more than 120,000 km, the report said.
With five more townships and 67 more villages linked by paved roads last year, 94%of TAR’s townships and 77%t of its villages are now connected by such roads, the report added.
It said that last year, the Lhasa-Nagchu Expressway, the world’s highest, opened to traffic.
“With the exception of Ngari prefecture (in remote western Tibet), all other cities in the region are now linked to expressways,” Xu Wenqiang, head of the region’s traffic and transportation department, has said.