Huangshan City in central China's Anhui Province announced on Thursday a multi-billion yuan package of transport infrastructure projects, on top of an already announced expansion of the rail network in the area.

The new projects, and those already announced, total 67 billion yuan (US$9.8 billion) of investment over the coming five years in the world-famous scenic city, the local government said on Thursday.

The new projects announced include 165 km of expressways within the city and the upgrading of the local airport, said an official of the city's development and reform commission, which are in addition to the construction of 401 km of railways.

The central government previously announced that railway lines will be built within Huangshan City totaling 150 km of the Beijing-Fuzhou high speed railway, 147 km of the Anhui-Jiangxi line, 46 km of the Huangshan-Hangzhou line and 58 km of the Huangshan-Jinhua line.

The urban areas of Huangshan will connect via expressways with seven districts and counties under the jurisdiction of the city government.

The city is known for Mt. Huangshan, which is included on the World Heritage lists of places of significance culturally and in nature, as well as the Global Network of Geoparks.

A poor transport network has hindered development of this mountainous city. At present, only one railway passes through Huangshan.

The city aims to receive 20 million tourists, including one million foreigners, annually by 2010 and realize tourism revenue of 20 billion yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2008)