Transportation sector growth picks up speed

A high-speed train travels along a line from Zhengzhou, Henan province, to Chongqing, which began operations in June last year. LI YANG/XINHUA

Higher investment and a detailed plan of action aim to provide greater convenience and greener travel. Luo Wangshu reports.

Last year, China's transportation sector saw more investment and extended itself on all fronts to promote high-quality growth, meet people's travel needs, improve lives and boost socioeconomic development.

Despite downward pressure on the economy and external challenges, the sector has driven domestic demand and expanded investment to stabilize economic growth and create new space for funding, according to Hou Zhenxing, deputy director of the general planning department at the Ministry of Transport.

"Transportation is the pulse of the economy and provides the connections of civilization," he said.

The ministry said investment in transportation fixed assets saw a 6.3 percent rise in the first three quarters of last year from the same period in 2021, maintaining a high growth rate.

The country has also accelerated the construction of a comprehensive transportation network. In October, a detailed plan was released for the construction of the system's backbone network, with the scale expected to reach 260,000 kilometers by 2025.

A project was also launched to improve the transportation and logistics network to boost the carriage of freight in urban areas, with 15 cities selected as the first group to be built into national cargo transport hubs.

Major transport construction projects — such as the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the expansion of the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway and the third phase of the Changsha Huanghua International Airport in central China's Hunan province — proceeded smoothly.

Roads, railways and other transportation facilities were built and opened, and more money was invested in building highways in order to maintain and increase investment and stabilize the economy.