Construction of a logistics center along the Qinghai-Tibet railway will begin in July in Tibet to help boost economic development in the region, Chinese railway and local authorities said on Tuesday.

The 533-hectare center will be built near Nagqu station, 320 kilometers north of regional capital Lhasa, at a cost of 1.5 billion yuan (US$193 million).

Hao Peng, a local official, said the center would drive the industrial development and trade in the area and raise its self-development capabilities.

A research team headed by railway minister Liu Zhijun and a work team from Tibet's local authorities gathered in Nagqu on Tuesday to discuss the construction plan.

The center will be completed and put into use before October 1 next year.

According to Liu, the ministry will bolster investment to support the economic development in Tibet by extending the newly-built Qinghai-Tibet railway to Xigaze, about 280 km west of Lhasa. But Liu did not give any further details.

(Xinhua News Agency March 21, 2007)