China plans to spend Rmb6,200bn on upgrading its transportation infrastructure during the 12th five-year plan (2011-15), said Sun Guoqing, director of the Ministry of Transport’s comprehensive planning department. The figure compares with investment of Rmb4,700bn in the sector during the 2006-10 period.

Road construction will account for a large proportion of the budget, said Mr Sun. Some 108,000km of highways will be constructed between now and 2015.