Despite concerns from environmentalists, China on Wednesday said it would press ahead with the construction of a 110-km-long highway linking Tibet to Mt Everest.

And added that they would not rule out building hotels in  the future in the fragile Himalayan region.
Construction of a highway on Mt Everest would be completed before August 2008, in time for the Beijing Olympics Games, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional government Qiangba Puncog told reporters here at a press conference.

“We’ll ensure completion of the road by all means by next August,” he said. The project aims to turn a 110 km rough road linking Tingri County of Xigaze Prefecture at the foot of the mountain to the Base Camp into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails.

On completion, the highway will become the major route for tourists and mountaineers who are crowding onto Mt Qomolangma (Chinese name for Mt Everest) in ever larger numbers.

Tourist attraction

“More tourists are flocking into the Qomolangma Base Camp in the recent two years,” said Puncog.
“Tourists from Europe and America like to have a glimpse of the Mount Qomolangma.”

Beijing Olympics

Organisers of the Beijing Olympics Games have revealed ambitious plans for the longest torch relay in Olympic history — a 1,37,000 km, 130-day route that would cross five continents and scale the world’s summit, which straddles the border between China and Nepal.

Meanwhile Chinese  C Culture Minister Sun Jiazheng sought to downplay the controversy surrounding the highway on Wednesday.

“Transport is an important part of development of China. The infrastructure has been planned to make it more convenient for the people,”  The minister was speaking after signing a cultural exchange agreement with Culture Minister Ambika Soni.