BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhuanet)-- China has issued its first regional transportation blueprint, according to the Ministry of Communications here Monday.

    The blueprint detailed the plans for the transportation network of the Yangtze River Delta. According to the blueprint, by 2020, highways in this region will reach 300,000 kilometers and navigation channels in freshwater, 4200 kilometers.

    The ministry aims to build "a comprehensive transportation hinge in this region so as to foster an orderly and energetic market," said the blueprint.

    With coastal and potamic economic belts, and international and domestic logistics overlapping in this region, highways and waterways are important and provide strong support to economic development in the Yangtze river delta, said Ren Jianhua, deputy director of the Comprehensive Planning Department of the ministry.

    The blueprint said the Shanghai international shipping center and container transportation system will be formed by 2020, with Shanghai as the core, and ports such as Ningbo, Suzhou as its wings. An high-level navigation channel will also be formed with the Yangtze river and Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to be at the core.

    Ren said the blueprint aims to integrate the resources of this region to form an intelligent and informed transportation system. He said the ministry hopes that regional transportation integration will enhance regional economic integration . Enditem