Officials check a blueprint for road projects in central Shanxi. [Photo by Ma Ke for China Daily]

Construction of a dense road network will be a crucial component in the development of a city cluster in central Shanxi province of North China, according to a local official.

Consisting of the city of Taiyuan, its southern neighbor Jinzhong and northern neighbor Xinzhou, the cluster is the centerpiece of the development strategy launched by provincial authorities in 2021, according to Guo Bingfu, chief of the Shanxi Department of Transport.

Shanxi launched an urban integration program for Taiyuan and Xinzhou in 2021, in accordance with the central government's requirements. In March of that year, the State Council released a guideline for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), requiring Shanxi to foster a city cluster in its central region.

The cluster is proposed to host industries relocated from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Grasping the opportunity, the Shanxi government proposed to develop the Taiyuan-Xinzhou Integrated Economic Zone in the months that followed.

An earlier program, launched in 2010, had paired Taiyuan and Jinzhong. The Shanxi Transformation and Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone, currently the largest integrated development zone in Shanxi, links the two cities.

According to Guo, improving transport facilities is a significant part of Shanxi's development program. He said the provincial government released a specific plan last year for the city cluster's transport development, announcing that more roads will be constructed.

The schedule calls for Taiyuan, Jinzhong and Xinzhou to be linked to other regions of the nation by 11 expressways and 14 national highways by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, and there will be a denser road network connecting the three with neighboring cities within the province.

Total fixed asset investment in road construction for the three cities will amount to 439 billion yuan ($60.63 billion) during the 14th Five-Year Plan, which is expected to result in an addition of more than 4,500 kilometers of highways by the end of 2025. Both figures account for more than a half of Shanxi's total of planned road length and investment during that term.

Of the planned projects, 19 with total investment of 118.2 billion yuan and a total length of 1,080 km are now under construction, according to Guo. Another 18 projects with combined investment of 120.1 billion yuan and a total length of 1,321 km will start construction later this year, the official said.