The China to Build a Road on Mt. Everest for the Olympics?

Everyone knows the Olympics are taking place in China, but that isn't enough for the Chinese. China plans on building a highway that will reach the base camp on Mt. Everest. With this bold statement, environmentalists in china, New Delhi, and around the world are not pleased at all.

The length will be around 110 km road altogether and go to a height of 17,000 feet (5,200 meters), and begins within the week. The estimated length of time to build the road will be finished within 4 months. The Olympic torch is scheduled to be run on this road all the way to the peak of Mt. Everest. The construction of the road is planned to be completed before August of 2008; just in time for the Beijing Olympics Games. The road will begin in the Tingri County of Xigaze and be joined at the foot of Mount Everest to the Base Camp. Form there it will turn into a 'Blacktop Highway' and become fenced by guardrails. Once completed, this road will become a major route for tourists and sightseers due to the crowding of ever increasing numbers. Costing approximately 19.7 million dollars, the road will be built on an existing path. It is claimed that this project will rival that of the previously constructed Beijing-Lhasa Railroad.

The Chinese official Xinhua News Agency announced that: "There are signs saying the planning was carried out in some secrecy and even the Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic Games (BOCOG), had no idea until now." They also suggested that many Chinese authorities could have talk about the project with Nepal but left India "out of the loop". Officials of the capital city of India- New Delhi stated that the road "does not create any new defense concerns for India, though the figurative worth of the Chinese project would be grand.

Despite the concerns and protests from many environmentalists, China will begin its plan on Wednesday starting in Tibet and run all the way to Mt Everest. China also plans to build future hotels in the region of the Himalayas; an already fragile environment.