South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, gateway to southeast Asia, will invest more than 400 billion yuan (US$58 billion) on transportation infrastructure over the next five years.

Addressing a press conference held by the State Council Information Office  on Tuesday, Ma Biao, chairman of the autonomous region, said Guangxi would give top priority to developing transportation by improving an existing passage linking southwest China to the South China Sea.

That passage, which runs through Guizhou Province, starts in southwest China's Sichuan Province and ends at the Beibu Bay in Guangxi, bordering Vietnam, with a length of 1,700 km.

The government also plans to make Guangxi into a hub for transportation from China to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Ma didn't give details on spending.

Ma noted that Guangxi's highway mileage in 2007 was 94,200 km and its cargo throughput at ports reached 113 million tons.

Guangxi covers 237,600 sq km and has a population of 50 million.

(Xinhua News Agency December 3, 2008)