East China's Shandong Province plans to build 2,000-km expressways in the next five years, a massive project which is estimated to cost more than 100 billion yuan (12.37 billion US dollars).

Shandong has been leading the country in expressway construction since 1997. Its expressway has exceeded 3,047-km and will reach 3,163-km by the end of this year, according to the provincial communication department.

A total length of 2,184-km expressway had been built from 1998 to 2004, with a combined investment of 95.7 billion yuan (11.8 billion US dollars). And the new construction will definitely cost more, according to Zhou Qiutian, head of the department.

The new expressway will link all 139 counties in the province and is expected to stretch to faraway regions such as Guangdong, Xinjiang, Ningxia, and Gansu, Zhou said.

Shandong is frequently praised for its road construction, an achievement observers say lead to vibrant economic activities and prosperity of the province. The government has also begun to replace 20,000-km muddy dirt roads in the countryside to cement roads.

Source: Xinhua