The
Tibetan plateau is witnessing a great deal of infrastructure development. This
is not new, but the Chinese investments have taken much larger proportions in
the recent weeks.
According
to the website en.tibetol.cn, the Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)
has vowed to invest 543.1 billion yuan (88 billion US dollar) “to improve
transportation conditions and promote the economic and social development
during the 13th five-year period (2016-2020).”
What
does it means?
Undoubtedly,
it will bring tens of millions Chinese tourists on the plateau.
One hundred million soon?
The
12th Five-Year Plan
During
the previous five-year period (2011-2015), 300 kilometers of high-level roads
were built in the TAR while the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway started its operations in
2014; further 63 new airlines have been opened, linking 40 cities in China.
By
the end of the current Plan (13th), the total mileage of highways in
Tibet will reach 110,000 kilometers.
New Developments
On
November 25, China Daily announced that “more than 20 new highways will be
built in the TAR next year, with a total investment of more than 33 billion
yuan (5 billion US dollar)”.
According
to Ge Yutao, head of the TAR’s regional transportation authority, the new
routes will include Lhasa to Nagchu; Derge to Chamdo; Chamdo to Jaka; Lhasa to
Shigatse Airport; and Gongkar Airport to Tsethang, as well as the Nyima-Aso
section of National Highway 317.
Ge
added that 54 billion yuan (8.8 billon US dollar) from the TAR’s coffers will
be spent on Tibet's transport infrastructure during the current year: “The
total length of roads has reached 82,000 kilometers, and it's expected to reach
89,000 km next year. Next year, we will finish constructing 864 km of highways
and 5,500 km of rural roads, and reconstruct 4,310 km of national and
provincial trunk highways."
Ge
spoke during the recent TAR Congress in Lhasa.
The
TAR plans to spend 15 billion yuan (2.4 billion US dollar) from the State resources
and 40 billion yuan (6.5 billion US dollar) from bank loans to further improve
Tibet's transportation network next year.
It
is not said who is guarantying the loans. Probably the Central Government as
these investments will also be useful to ‘defend the borders’.
On
November 15, while presenting the TAR’s ‘Work Report’ to the regional Congress,
Wu Yingjie, the new TAR Party boss mentioned the improvements in road, rail and
aviation networks planned for the next five years.
The
second ‘Sky Road’
During
the current Five-Year Plan, Tibet will particularly speed up the construction
of its second ‘Sky Road’, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway.
The
1,838 km railway will run from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province to Lhasa.
The first ‘Sky Road’ on the plateau was the Qinghai-Tibet Railway opened in July
2006, linking Golmund to Lhasa.
‘While
the first section of the second ‘Sky Road, between Chengdu and Ya'an, began in
2014, the second part, from Lhasa to Nyingchi, started in 2014.
Wu affirmed
that “The section inside Tibet is expected to be finished by 2020.”
He
told the delegates to the Congress that the preliminary work on the
Yunnan-Tibet Railway and flights between Ngari and Purang, in Ngari prefecture,
will start in the next five years.
Incidentally,
Purang is located near Mt Kailash, just north of Pithoragarh district of
Uttarakhand.
Wu
added that “Tibet has plans to build airports in densely populated and
developed cities and prefectures. The progress of an elaborate transportation
system of highways, railways and air routes in the coming years will lay a
foundation for Tibet to blend in with the Belt and Road Initiative. [One Road
One Belt scheme]"
According
to the TAR’s Work Report: “Tibet has witnessed rapid development in
transportation construction in the past five years, with the total length of
the highways increasing by 33 percent. In that time, the 300-km Lhasa-Nyingchi
Highway was completed, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was expanded and the Lhasa-Shigatse
Railway went fully operational.”
All
this has brought millions of tourists from the Mainland to the plateau, with
the consequences often mentioned on this blog.
Xu
Ance, an engineer with Qinghai-Tibet Railway Co, told The China Daily: “Over
the past 10 years, the number of tourists visiting Tibet has increased every
year, while our passenger and cargo flow has grown annually, too,"
The
railway line is being used for transporting basic goods, coal, cement and
construction materials …and troops and military equipment.
The world’s highest tunnel
The
Chinese press reported that China completed the work on the world's highest
road tunnel, costing about US dollars 170 million on the Sichuan-Tibet highway.
The
seven-km long tunnel, situated 6,168 metre above sea level (the tunnel or the
mountain?), passes through the main peak of Chola Mountain. It shortens the
time from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, to Nagchu in Tibet by two
hours, and avoiding the most dangerous section on the highway.
The
four-way lanes tunnel has been under construction since 2012. It will open to
traffic next year.
The
seven-km long tunnel has been built at a cost of 1.15 billion yuan (US dollar 170
million). It takes only takes 10 minutes to drive through. The highway will
accommodate 4,000 to 5,000 vehicles a day, as compared with around 1,500 now.
Feasibility
of Kangding to Nyingchi railway
According
to China Tibet Online, the pre-feasibility study report of the Kangding to Nyingchi
segment of the Sichuan-Tibet railway was ready by the end of October this year.
The
China Railway Eryuan Engineering Co. Ltd asserted that it is the longest and
toughest segment of the Sichuan-Tibet railway line. National Development and
Reform Commission is planning to start the construction of this section in
2017. The expected construction time should be seven or eight years
The
Sichuan-Tibet railway starting from Chengdu will serve Ya'an, Kangding, Chamdo,
Nyingchi, Lhoka and Lhasa. The total length of the operation route will be
1,838 kilometers, out of which 1,738 kilometers of new track will be built. The
total investment will reach be 216.6 billion yuan (35 billon US dollars).
It
should shorten the traveling time from 43 hours and 7 minutes now to 13 hours
while providing for ‘bidirectional rapid trains’ and inject “double momentum
for Tibet's economic development. Over five million people will benefit from
this railway project,” according to one report.
Preliminary work of Yunnan-Tibet
The new Yunnan-Tibet Railway to
Shangri-La and Dechen County of Yunnan province crossing to the TAR’s Markam and
Zogang counties will connect with the Sichuan-Tibet Railway in Bamda Town. The
line will be 415 kilometers long; 265-kilometer being in TAR. The total
investment has been evaluated to 43.6 billion yuan (7 billion US dollar); the Tibet
section alone will cost about 27.8 billion yuan (5 billion US dollar). The
preliminary work for the alignment of the line has started. The main work will
begin during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
China Tibet Online says that the railway in Tibet “is gradually approaching perfection with the operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway and Lhasa-Shigatse Railway as
well as the construction of Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway. Since the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway is put into operation, [in 2006] Tibet's freight transportation has
increased rapidly and it has become the main freight channel."
And let us not forget, it also takes
care of the PLA’s requirements.
The Chinese site added: “The
construction of Yunnan-Tibet Railway will bring more convenient
transportation conditions for the passenger and cargo circulation between TAR
and Yunnan Province;” it concludes: “The Yunnan-Tibet Railway is a critical
part of China Western Development, which is meaningful for the leapfrog
development and long-term peace and order of Tibet.”
In other words it will be useful to
control the restive Tibetans.
On
October 31, Kangba TV announced, the opening ceremony of Baima (Pema?) Snow
Mountain tunnel on the G214 national highway from Shangri-la to Dechen in
Yunnan province.
Kangba
TV said that the Shangri-la-Dechen secondary highway is extremely difficult to
build “with the high altitude, the worst environment and the most complicated
geological landscape in Yunnan Province.”
The
project consists of three tunnels, all above 4,000m altitude. The length of the
three tunnels totals 19,5 kms. The project started its construction in March
10, 2010 (incidentally, the Tibetan Uprising Day).
The
Baima (Pema?) Snow Mountain tunnel should boost the local economy and help the
transportation network in Dechen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
In
Amdo/Qinghai
In
the north, in the Amdo province of Tibet, the construction
of the Delingha-Xiangride Highway has been completed; the road is 176.48 km
long. The 72.75 km-long Ebao-Qilian Highway is also in operation.
The
Delingha-Xiangride Highway is a special one.
Historically,
Delingha has been the launching sites for many Chinese ballistic missiles. Located
in the Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province, the
project’s ending point will be connected with the planned Beijing-Tibet Highway
(G6), and to the beginning of the Xiangride-Huashixia Highway.
It
has a complex geographical environment, crossing the Gobi Desert, salt-marsh,
and water meadows.
According
to the Chinese media: “It will create a combined transportation network
featuring the Beijing-Tibet Highway (G6), National Road 214, the Qinghai-Tibet
Railway, and the Qinghai-Xinjiang Railway.”
This
expansion is part of the national highway project linking Delingha to Maerkang
in Sichuan (G0615). The entire highway will be built to the latest standards
and will be designed for vehicles to run at a speed at 100 km/hr.
In
the Qilian County, the Ebao-Qilian Highway starts from Ebao Town. It connects
to National Highway 227 as well as the Zhangye-Henan Highway, ending up in
Qilian County. The road further connects to Provincial Road 204 and the planned
Qilian-Chamdo Highway.
Other
developments
China
Tibet News reported that at the beginning of 2016, all cities in China's have
access to the fiber-optic broadband. During the current Five-Year period, China
Telecom will promote the development of basic information resources, making the
fiber-optic broadband faster: “Internet will integrate with more traditional
industries, accelerating the construction of broadband Tibet, intelligent city,
intelligent industry and intelligent family. It also makes the poverty
alleviation work more efficient.”
The website says that there are 82 mobile phones and 11 fixed phones for every
100 people in China's Tibet. The Internet penetration rate reaches 60 percent: “Internet
not only improves Tibetan people's livelihood but also shortens the distance
between Tibet and the outside world. As Internet integrates with traditional
industries such as tourism and agriculture, work efficiency gets great
improvement.”
It
cites the Qionglin Village in Nanyi Township of Menling County, Nyingchi (north
of Aurunachal Pradesh). It has been provide fiber-optic broadband connection by China Mobile.
Out of 47 households in the village, 40 have access to broadband and Wifi
access is available in the village.
The same website says that “during the 12th Five-Year Plan period, China's Tibet
built 3,000 rural comprehensive information service stations, covering 57
percent of administrative villages and 62 percent of farmers and herdsmen.”
Tibet
branch of China Mobile has invested 14.29 billion yuan (about 2.14 billion U.S.
dollar) and built 12,600 base stations: “long distance optical cable reached
51,900 sheet km. In Tibet, there are already 4,440 administrative villages that
have access to mobile Internet, with the coverage rate of 84 percent. 693 towns
and more than 4,000 administrative villages are connected to optical fiber
cable, lying a solid foundation for the proliferation of optical fiber cable in
all farming and pastoral areas.”
It speaks of ‘Heavenly Tibet’: “an intelligent
tourist product, providing tourists with one-stop information service
encompassing eating, accommodation, traffic, traveling, shopping and
entertainment. It is the same as the newfangled online tourism service.”
The
Nyingchi Prefecture has invested 1.33 million yuan (about 199,445 U.S.
dollars), to develop the ‘transparent kitchen’ which is a food safety
monitoring project integrated with the Internet: “Currently, 25 school
cafeterias and hotels have been monitored by this system. Besides, more than
400 restaurants will be put into this item.”
The
Disneyland of Snows will become a cool connected place, but it may lose its soul in
the process.
Lamas
in their mountain caves were also ‘connected’, but in a different way.
