Everest Road - Blacktop to Basecamp
June 20, 2007
BEIJING -- China plans to build a highway on the side of Mount Everest to pave the way for the Olympic torch's journey to the peak of the world's tallest mountain.
In April, organizers of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics announced ambitious plans for the longest torch relay in Olympic history -- a 137,000-kilometer, 130-day route that will cross five continents and scale Mount Everest.
The Xinhua news agency reported yesterday that construction of the road, budgeted at 150 million yuan ($19.7 million) would turn a 108-kilometer rough path from the foot of the 8,850-meter-tall mountain to a base camp at 5,200 meters "into a blacktop highway fenced by undulating guardrails."
Xinhua said construction of the road would start next week and would take about four months to complete.
An official from the Secretariat of the Tibetan government confirmed the project was planned, but declined to give details. Routes from Tibet and Nepal are the most commonly used to go up the mountain.
Labels: news
posted by Jay @ 6/20/2007,
