The country's transportation network is expected to hit 4.9 million kilometers in three years, with a focus on improving structural and connecting issues, according to the State Council.
The government has vowed to build a national transportation network comprising regular roads connecting counties and villages, railways, highways and waterways, civil aviation projects and pipelines, according to the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) comprehensive transportation network outlook issued by the State Council recently.
National express railways in operation are expected to reach more than 40,000 km, while national highways will reach 83,000 km.
The civil aviation network will be further expanded and upgraded to the level where more than 80 percent of the population can use aviation services within a 100 km direct distance.
About 42 national transportation hubs will also be completed by then.
The development of a cross-region and cross-country network for crude oil, petrochemical products and natural gas is also on the top agenda.
In the next three years, the national passenger transport volume is expected to reach 47 billion, and cargo turnover volume is expected to grow 7.2 percent annually to 20,100 billion tons.
During the previous Five-Year Plan (2006-10), the transportation volumes have reached their goals. The current task is to solve the structural and connecting issues, an expert involved with the planning told the China Securities Journal.
The government invested 7,970 billion yuan on the development of the transportation network, an increase of 171 percent compared with the previous period.
