Chinese authorities on Tuesday approved the construction of four new railway lines stretching over 2,000 km, at a total investment of 253.3 billion yuan ($39.6 billion).
A new intercity railway will link four cities in Ningxia Hui region with a total investment of 8.1 billion yuan, and the second and third lines will connect cities in Anhui and Sichuan provinces, the National Development and Reform Commission's (NDRC) said.
The fourth line, in Fujian province, features the biggest investment -- 107.1 billion yuan, Xinhua news agency reported.
Construction is expected to be completed within the next five years.
Local governments and the China Railway Corporation will provide the majority of the funding, and the rest will come from commercial and policy banks, the NDRC added.