The section is one of the major projects to improve livelihoods in Tibet.

 

The section, with a total length of about 227 kilometers, is designed for speeds up to 120 kilometers per hour. It will have 145 bridges and a tunnel upon completion, and those will account nearly 17 percent of the highway's total length.

 

Another section of the highway, the Yangbajan-Lhasa Highway, linking the regional capital, Lhasa, with Yangbajan township in the region's Damshung county, opened on Oct.1.

 

That section is expected to contribute to the region's overall social and economic development and boost livelihoods through production and transportation services.

 

Tibet, which is less developed than much of China, is populated mainly by members of the Tibetan ethnic group.

 

The region's highway network — with wider roads for higher-speed traffic — now stretches more than 720 km. The length of paved roads in the region has reached nearly 120,000 km.

 

During 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), the region's fixed asset investment was 3.7 times that of the previous five-year plan period, reaching 252 billion yuan ($39 billion). The transportation sector accounted for one-third of the region's total fixed asset investment.