China has begun the implementation of an ambitious program that will see the building or upgrading of 1.2 million kilometers of rural highways before the end of 2010.

The country's top planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said the central government would this year provide a subsidy of 17.5 billion yuan (US$2.2 billion) for 28,008 rural roads totaling 119,200 kilometers.

These roads will cost a total of 45 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion). They include 27,012 roads in east and central China and 996 in the west, the NDRC said on its website.

The upgrading of rural roads would help create favorable conditions for developing the rural economy, improving the living standards of rural residents and building the Socialist new countryside, said the NDRC.

The 11th five-year-plan adopted by the National People's Congress in March says all Chinese villages and townships will be accessible by highway by 2010.

Official statistics show that by the end of 2005, China had three million kilometers of rural roads, including 980,000 kilometers of sealed roads.

Currently 99.8 percent of China's townships and 94.3 percent of its villages are served by highways.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2006)