China's Ministry of Communications will invest 24.8 billion yuan (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) of vehicle purchase tax revenues in rural road construction this year, nearly 10 percent up from last year, to boost development of the countryside.

Local governments should increase input into rural road construction, encourage rural residents to raise funds voluntarily and absorb other social investments, said Minister of Communications Li Shenglin on Monday.

A total of 300,000 kilometers of roads will be built or reconstructed in the countryside this year, said Li.

He urged local governments to guarantee the quality of the road projects and protect farm land and the environment in construction.

Last year, a total investment of 151.3 billion yuan was put into the building and reconstruction of 325,000 kilometers of rural roads, both hitting record highs.

Source: Xinhua