Southwest China's Yunnan Province invested 22.55 billion yuan (about 2.8 billion U.S. dollars) in road construction from January to November, a source with the provincial communications department said here Friday.

Compared with the 14.54 billion yuan (some 1.8 billion U.S. dollars) investment in 2004, the government input this year has been up 54.77 percent.

Approximately 16.14 billion yuan (some 2 billion U.S. dollars) was spent on building major highways in Yunnan, a year-on-year growth of 154.63 percent.

By the end of 2004, the mileage of roads in Yunnan had reached 167,050 kilometers including 1421 km expressway, ranking China's first.

A massive road network has taken shape in the province, said the department.

Source: Xinhua