The paving of main roads in Murong township, Yajiang County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province was completed on Thursday. Now all townships in Sichuan are linked by hardened road networks.

The completion of the road hardening project in Murong township marks the success of a poverty alleviation program that improved the transportation infrastructure in the southwestern province of Sichuan. The project will help eradicate poverty and ensure better living standards for nearly 5,000 local people along the township roads.

Sichuan, as an inland province, is one of the key areas in the country's fight against poverty. At the end of 2012, there were 347 townships and 16,457 villages across the province with no paved roads.

For more than six years, Sichuan province has taken poverty alleviation as a valuable development opportunity. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Sichuan has invested 600 billion yuan ($86 billion) in poverty reduction including building and upgrading 110,000 kilometers of road in poverty-stricken areas, of which 100,000 kilometers was rural roads.

At present, only one village in Sichuan still lacks access to paved roads — Abuluoha Village, Butuo County in Liangshan Yi Prefecture. The project is expected to be basically completed by the end of this month to guarantee transportation services for the locals.

The road hardening project in Murong township was officially launched in July 2017. The roads are all located in alpine regions with complicated geological conditions.

To guide the construction, the province’s department of transportation implemented on-site supervision and coordinated regional resources to improve supply and construction efficiency.

The road hardening project in Murong township has greatly improved transport conditions for local farmers and herdsmen. (Compiled by Zhang Tong. Photos: Provided to People's Daily app)