CAAC Unveils New List Of Airports With Approval To Expand

CAAC has unveiled a list of domestic airports that are newly approved for expansion and renovation: including Qamdo Bangda Airport and Changsha Huanghua Airport.

The project at Qamdo Bangda Airport is aimed to be able to meet a requirement for180,000 passengers and 540 tons of cargo a year; and Changsha Huanghua Airport is expected to be able to meet a requirement for 15,200,000 passengers and 200,000 tons of cargo each year. Both the airports are scheduled to have their renovation completed by 2015.

Published data indicates that there are about 15 large-scale airport projects under construction at present. During the period of 11th Five-year Plan, China will invest RMB140 billion in airport construction to reach a total of 297 civil airports around the country by 2010. In February, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and Hunan Zhangjiajie Airport also were approved for expansion and renovation. CAAC estimates that the number of civil aviation aircraft will increase by an additional 725 during the period of 11th Five-year Plan, with an annual growth rate of 13%. Domestic civil aviation enterprises currently own a total of 1,054 registered aircraft.