LHASA, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Southwest China's Tibet will strive to make highways reach all townships and administrative villages by 2020 in a bid to boost rural development, said the regional transport authorities.

By 2020, all townships which meet necessary conditions and 80 percent of administrative villages would have access to bus service, said a senior transport official of Tibet Autonomous Region.

Road construction will help the region reduce poverty and increase the income of farmers and herders, according to the official.

This year, the region will launch projects to make 13 townships and more than 1,000 villages connected by asphalt or cement roads.

Rural road mileage in Tibet is currently 60,421 km, compared with 53,244 km in 2012, thanks to heavy investment in this field.