China will begin construction this year on a 750 million US dollar project to expand its rail network in Central Asia.

A feasibility study involving the State Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Railways and authorities from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous region was completed at the end of July for the 300-kilometer Jinghe-Ili-Horgos rail line.

The project, running through Kazakh and Mongolian ethnic minority prefectures in northwestern Xinjiang near the border with Kazakhstan, is scheduled for completion in 2008.

The new railway will, in part, facilitate better transportation between China and Central Asian countries.

Moreover, the rail line will tighten economic ties between Xinjiang and the country's other inland provinces and regions, and be part of the trans-continental railway network linking China's coastal regions with European countries.