Tibet's urbanization rate expected to exceed 30% by 2020

Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region plans to push its urbanization rate over 30 percent by 2020.
During Wednesday's urbanization conference, Tibet decided to increase the permanent urban population by nearly 280,000 by the year of 2020, with three cities or towns with populations up to 500,000, and two cities or towns with populations up to 100,000.
The number of towns and cities in the region has increased from 31 in 1990 to 140 in 2013. The urban population has hit 740,000 in 2013 against 287,000 in 1980. In the process, transportation, energy supplies and communications have also improved. The biggest city and regional capital Lhasa currently has a population of less than 300,000.
Tibet's urbanization still lags behind many regions, said Losang Jamcan, chairman of the regional government.