Zhejiang will increase investment in transportation infrastructure construction and boost transportation industrial development in the future, according to a forum held during the second Zhejiang International Intelligent Transportation Industry Expo in Hangzhou on Dec 6.

Zhejiang plans to invest 3 trillion yuan ($426.45 billion) in transportation over the next 10 years. It aims to extend the expressway network from 4,000 kilometers now to 8,000 kilometers by 2035, and the railway network from 2,000 kilometers now to 7,500 kilometers.

Railway plays a vital role in Zhejiang's efforts to improve its transportation. According to the Zhejiang Communications Investment Group, Zhejiang has spent around 140 billion yuan on 18 railway projects since 2016, building 600 kilometers of railway, and expected its total railway operating mileage to increase to 3,400 kilometers by the end of 2020.

Between the years of 2021 and 2025, Zhejiang plans to spend 300 billion yuan on 10 new projects to build 1,400 kilometers of railway and extend its total railway operating mileage to 4,800 kilometers by the end of 2025.

In terms of expressway, Zhejiang has been committed to building intelligent expressways in recent years.

The local government has been organizing industrial experts and enterprises to conduct research on vehicle-road coordination and intelligent cloud control platforms since last year, and has released measures for self-driving car road test management.

The province aims to build intelligent roads that can support self-driving and new-energy vehicles, enhance travel efficiency and reduce travel accidents. It is currently working on formulating China's first intelligent expressway construction standard.

Zhejiang also attaches great importance to the development of its overall transportation industry, including transportation building, equipment manufacturing, and related service industries.

At the forum, Ren Zhong, deputy director of the transportation department of Zhejiang, released an overall transportation industrial map, the first of its kind in China, which includes nearly 30,000 transportation companies and over 100 major parks, platforms and projects throughout the province.

The map is designed to increase targeted investment for companies and track the development of national and global transportation by exercising digital regulation of major projects, in order to help the government in making policies.

Hangzhou's Xiaoshan district has also built an intelligent transportation town, the first of its kind in Zhejiang, to focus on developing intelligent transportation equipment and facilities.

The second Zhejiang International Intelligent Transportation Industry Expo attracted 206 influential companies and saw the signing of 23 projects worth 37.4 billion yuan. The first expo, held last year, saw 16 projects worth 20 billion inked.