18 June 2007
China to build highway on world's tallest mountain
(Xinhua) Chinese engineers will begin building a highway on Mount Everest as part of the route that will be followed by the Olympic torch in 2008. The project aims to turn a 108km rough road linking Tingri county, Shigatse prefecture, at the foot of the mountain to the Base Camp into a sealed highway. The government estimates its cost to be 150 million Yuan (UK£ 9.85million; US$19.7m; EUR€14.64m), and expects it to take about four months to build. On completion, the highway will become the main route for tourists and mountaineers visiting the world’s highest mountain. Qiangba Puncog (Tib: Jampa Phuntsog), chairman of the TAR, said the road was being built in order to "facilitate visitors" but there were no specific plans for construction of any other facilities. "Because of the high elevation (…) it is impossible to build any hotels there because for ordinary people it will be extremely difficult for them to spend the night", he said. However, he said he would "not completely rule out the possibility of building hotels in the future".