China to invest 4 trillion yuan in transportation development

China has outlined a massive spending plan aimed at providing more reliable transportation access to the country's remote areas.

As part of a new three-year outline worth 4 trillion yuan (about $725 billion) for transportation development, over 300 new projects have been laid out, People's daily reported.

Zheng Jian with the National Development and Reform Commission, on Sunday said that the massive spending plans are part of a pledge to pull everyone in China above the poverty line by 2020.

"We think access to more reliable forms of movement is the linch-pin to helping people out of poverty. This is why we've incorporated rural road construction in our new plans, which will link these remote areas to regional hubs in the next three years."

China's unique topography, particularly in the south and southwestern parts, has left numerous communities isolated from the rest of the country.

This has limited their access to government support, leaving them toward the bottom of the development curve, Zheng said.

The new transportation spending plan also includes projects to create better links in China's major centres, including inter-city links in the Yangtze and Pearl river delta regions, as well as throughout the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area.