The Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region accelerated infrastructure construction last year, including starting a record number of airports to boost economic development, regional government chairman Shohrat Zakir said on Monday.
He said this while delivering the government work report during the opening ceremony of the annual session of the Xinjiang regional People’s Congress.
“The construction of nine airports kicked off last year, which is unprecedented. Now, 56 regional air routes have opened, which is a great step forward in achieving the goal of connecting northern and southern Xinjiang as well as making travel faster inside and outside the region,” he said.
Of the nine airports under construction, four are in less-developed southern Xinjiang, including Tashkurgan county in Kashgar prefecture and Yutian county in Hotan prefecture.
Covering one-sixth of Chinese territory, Xinjiang currently has 21 airports-the most among all provinces and regions.
What’s more, all prefectures and cities in Xinjiang were connected with highways by 2019. Meanwhile, the power transmission network around the Tarim Basin was put into operation last year, solving the problem of shortages in Kashgar and Hotan, he said.
The region plans to further invest in infrastructure construction and boost connectivity by improving rail and highway networks this year, making it a key corridor on the Silk Road Economic Belt. The highway connecting Kashgar city with Pakistan is expected to be completed this year and will support the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, Shohrat said.
Meanwhile, the region’s annual gross domestic product achieved growth of six per cent last year as the implementation of measures to root out religious extremism and fight terrorism under the law continues.
The measures have kept the region-which had experienced frequent terrorist attacks in the past-stable for more than three years. As a result, tourism in the region has boomed and significantly contributed to economic growth, he added.
Tourists visited the region, which is famous for its natural scenery and ethnic cultures, more than 200 million times in 2019, an increase of 41.6 per cent year-on-year, the government work report said.
CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK