HANGZHOU - Eleven cities in East China's Zhejiang province will build electric vehicle charging networks across their urban areas, the provincial branch of the State Grid Corp of China said.

By the end of 2017, there will be a charging station every 2 kilometers in the urban districts of these cities. By the end of 2016, the company had installed 404 charging stations across the province.

Charging facilities have also been set up in service stations along the province's major expressways.

China is encouraging its populace to switch to electric cars in the shift from heavy reliance on coal to clean energy sources. One of the main obstacles discouraging buyers is the lack of charging facilities.

According to the provincial five-year plan (2016-2020), electric vehicle charging facilities will be able to charge more than 230,000 electric cars by the year 2020.