GUANGZHOU - Southern Chinese province of Guangdong plans a series of railway projects for this year, the provincial railway company said.

Construction will start on nine lines, at a cost of 120 billion yuan ($17 billion), said Guangdong Provincial Railway Construction Investment Group Co. Ltd.

The projects include three inter-city lines, one connecting Guangzhou, Foshan, Jiangmen and Zhuhai. Six other projects long-distance rail lines and stations.

Zhu Yaozhong, director of the company, said that 33 lines totalling 2,107 kilometers have been under construction.

According to Guangdong's five-year plan, most cities in the province will be accessible by high-speed railway by 2020.