11. Aug 2006
Road to Metog/Pema Koe to be built
(Xinhua) The TAR authorities have announced that they will build a road that will integrate Metog/Pema Koe (Chin: Motuo), which is the last of the PRC’s 2,100 counties to be connected by highway, into the national road network. A team of experts from the Ministry of Communications (MOC) conducted a feasibility study in June 2006 and has submitted plans for the road that will be studied by the MOC in October in Beijing. The central government has been considering building the highway in Metog since 1975, said MOC officials. The highway poses a number of engineering challenges as Metog sits on the Himalayan fault line where there are many earthquakes and landslides, said Guo Xiancheng, a senior engineer involved in the feasibility study. Construction costs are estimated to be 700 million Yuan (UK£46.5m; US$87.5m; EUR€68.3m), but details of the highway's length and construction schedule have not been disclosed by the MOC.