Inner Mongolia-Gansu highway starts construction

The national highway 37 line connecting Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Gansu province, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, started construction of the Yabulai-Shandan section on Oct 12th.

This section starts west of Yabulaicounty, in Alxa Right Banner, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, via Inner Mongolia’s Badain Jaran Desert geological park, Badain Jaran town, Alxa Right Banner’s airport and terminates in Shandan county, Gansu province.

Yabulai-Shandan section is 120 km in total, with almost 2 billion yuan (around $330 million) of investment, and is expected to be accomplished by 2016. Around 50 million yuan will be invested this year for building subgrades and bridges.

As the first national highway in Alxa Right Banner, the highway 37 line has significant meaning for the region, which as Huangbateer, the head of the Alxa Right Banner’s Transportation Department said, “The highway will strengthen the connection among Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Xinjiang, by bringing more benefit to the regions along the highway and promoting the optimization of the industrial structure.”

By Li Xiaoxu and edited by Nicole Fortin