In order to solve the bottleneck of leapfrog development, Yunnan has vowed to strengthen the building of its “Five Networks” infrastructure scheme. In the next five years, the province plans to spend 160 billion yuan on related projects, thus speeding up the development of road, water, aviation and energy networks, as well as online Internet capacity.
In the past year alone, 12 expressways were opened to traffic in Yunnan. Among the 82 projects listed in the provincial 13th Five-Year Plan” seven have been completed and opened to traffic. They span a total of 451 kilometres. Additionally, 13 railway projects—including the Yuxi-Mohan line connecting China with Laos, and the Dali-Ruili line linking China and Myanmar—are advancing across the board.
From January to October 2017, Yunnan completed fixed asset investment of 57.011 billion yuan in water conservancy projects. This number represents an increase of 14.6 billion yuan, or 34.46 percent year on year. The Mid-Yunnan Water Diversion Project, began in August 2017, indicating that Yunnan’s water network construction has entered a new, faster phase.
In terms of the province’s aviation network, passenger throughput handled by the Yunnan Airport Group increased from 31.92 million passengers in 2012 to 63 million passengers in 2017. Additionally, the feeder airport aviation market has gradually become more mature and stable, laying a solid foundation for the overall development of Yunnan Airport Group.
In terms of Yunnan’s energy network, construction of a number of hydropower stations is progressing smoothly. The Lijiang and Ruili branches of the China-Myanmar natural gas pipeline went into operation this year. As the province’s green energy sector advances, Yunnan is also promoting the planning, investment and development of solar, wind, photovoltaic and other clean energy sources.
To date, Yunnan has built a high-speed broadband network covering large areas with excellent service. More than 98 percent of the administrative villages in the province have access to fibre optic services, and the mobile 4G network covers all urban areas and administrative villages. Information services and applications continue to progress.