China is set to pump 327.3 billion yuan ($52.8 billion) into railway construction this year, with all 14 new projects under way, China News Service reported.

Constructing railways that will stretch 3,712 kilometers across central and western areas of the country will be a top priority this year, according to the report citing the China Railway Corporation.

One of the lines, set to connect Ejinaqi in the Inner Mongolian autonomous region and Hami in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, will run 629.9 km across West China’s Gansu province.

When completed, the Ejinaqi–Hami line, with an investment of 98.7 billion yuan, is expected to become the most convenient shipping channel that bridges the country’s northwestern and northern regions along the coast of the Bohai Sea, which will be a huge boost to local economies.