Published by: World Tibet Network News, Sunday, Jun 2, 1996

CHENGDU (June 1) XINHUA - The construction of an 8.66-km tunnel, which will be part of the highway connecting southwest China's Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region, has started.

The tunnel will be dug through Mount Erlang in Sichuan Province. The existing highway around the mountain is too dangerous due to landslides and especially in rainy, foggy or icy weather.

In addition to a highway connecting Tibet and Qinghai Province in northwest China, the Sichuan-Tibet highway serves as a vital land link between the plateau region and other inland areas in the country.

The tunnel will be the longest highway tunnel in China, and the construction will be rather difficult, as the geological structure is very complicated, engineers said.

With the central government providing 90 percent of a total investment of 400 million yuan (about 48 million US dollars), the tunnel is expected to be completed by 1999.

By that time vehicles commuting between Tibet and Sichuan will save 25 km on the journey, but what is more important is that the trip will be much safer.