URUMQI -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plans to invest 10 billion yuan (US$1.29 billion) in the construction of highways this year, said the region's department of communications on Sunday.

An official with the scheme said that 7.66 billion yuan (US$988 million) will be used to build nearly 4,000 km of trunk roads, including over 1,000 km of expressway.

The remaining 2.34 billion yuan (US$302 million) will be spent on 5,600 km of highways in rural areas.

The investment will cover 31 projects, 10 of which are scheduled to open to traffic by the end of this year.

Xinjiang plans to invest 55 billion yuan (US$7.1 billion) in the construction of highways in the period 2006-2010, the official added.

During the period 2001-2005, Xinjiang invested 33 billion yuan (US$4.25 billion) in highway construction, increasing the total length of highways in the region to nearly 90,000 km.