BEIJING — All Chinese townships and administrative villages are expected to be connected by asphalt or cement roads by the end of this year, said an official with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) on Dec 17.

As of Dec 15, there was only one township and one administrative village in Southwest China's Sichuan province that had yet to finish the construction of paved roads, which were expected to be completed by the end of the year, said Sun Wenjian, spokesperson for the ministry.

China has built or renovated over 2.3 million km of asphalt and cement roads in townships and villages since 2003, with a total investment from the central government surpassing 612 billion yuan (about $87.46 billion).

To date, the total length of roads in China's rural areas has exceeded 4.04 million km, according to Sun.

By the end of November, 99.45 percent of administrative villages and 99.64 percent of towns enjoyed regular bus services, the spokesperson said.