The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Project will have all its track laid by the end of the year and is expected to go into trial operation by July 1, 2006, said Vice- Premier Zeng Peiyan on Tuesday.

Zeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the leading group for the construction of the Plateau Railway Project, attended a working conference on the project, which gave awards to a number of companies and individuals for their contributions to the project.

2005 is the final year for the construction of the railway project in the snow-covered Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, said Zeng, who praised the workers for their "solidarity and hard work."

The vice-premier urged the builders to "adhere to the principle of quality" to make the project "a good model that will be able to stand the test of the time." He asked them to give priority to environmental protection, to maintain a good ecological environment in the plateau. He also called for caring about the health of workers.

He said a comprehensive plan should be worked out for the future operation of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which is sure to play a big role in promoting tourism in the region.

The full length of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, between Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province, and Lhasa, the capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, will be 2,040 kilometers.

The construction of the first phase of the railway project, between Xining and Gormud, Qinghai, began in 1958 and ended in 1984. In 2001, the building of the second phase, 1,142 kilometers long, was launched.

So far, workers have laid 743 kilometers of track in the second phase of the project, while great efforts have been made to protect the environment and deal with other problems such as frozen earth and the prevention of highland illness and epidemics.