Authorities in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region are planning to spend CNY50bn ($7.4bn) on highway construction over the next five years.

Tibet’s Autonomous regional transport department said the total length of highways will be extended from the current 58,000km to 70,000km by 2015.

The move is intended to provide better access to its rural townships by connecting them with a highway as currently about three quarters of townships have highway links, according to english.cri.cn.