Chongqing city road lengths have increased more than fivefold since 1997

DURING the 14 years since Chongqing became a provincial-status city directly reporting to Beijing, the city's roads have soared 538 per cent in length from 27,000 kilometres to 118,600 kilometres, Xinhua reports.

By the end of 2011, Chongqing had 10,000 kilometres of second class roads. The city also has removed toll charges on second class roads, which were raising CNY2 billion (US$313.6 million) per year.

As of 2011, Chongqing has invested CNY56 billion on new building or expanding 74,000 kilometres of rural roads. Additionally, the city has spent CNY1.7 billion on road safety facilities and projects.