Tibet authorities prepare to seek State approval of $4.9b project

Construction is set to begin this year on a railway linking Lhasa and Nyingchi prefecture in the Tibet autonomous region with an estimated 30 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) investment, top Tibetan officials said on Wednesday in Beijing.

Lobsang Jamcan, chairman of the Tibet autonomous region, told Tibetan deputies to the National People's Congress that the government is "preparing to begin building the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway when we hold a ceremony to mark the start of operations for the Lhasa-Xigaze railway".