Tibet starts building 5th civil airport

XIGAZE, Tibet, April 29 (Xinhua) -- Tibet Wednesday
started construction on its fifth civil airport in the southwest China's
autonomous region, according to local authorities.

The government would invest a total 480 million yuan
(70 million U.S. dollars) in the airport in Xigaze, the second-biggest city in
Tibet, said Xu Bo, head of the Civil Aviation Administration's Tibet Branch.

The inauguration ceremony on construction work of the Peace Airport, Xigaze Prefecture,southwestern Tibet, is held on April 29, 2009. (Xinhua/ Chogo)
Photo
Gallery

Construction work on the Peace Airport, at an
altitude of 3,782meters, would be finished in two years, Xu told Xinhua.

Yan Ping, cheif commander of the construction work,
said the airport was designed to handle 230,000 passengers and 1,150 tonnes of
cargo and mail a year by 2020.

Xu Xueguang, secretary of Xigaze prefectural Party committee, said: "The civil airport will be an air corridor linking Xigaze with the outside world and inject new vigor into local social and economic development."

Photo shows a blueprint of the Peace Airport, Xigaze Prefecture, southwestern Tibet. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo Gallery

Hao Peng, vice chairman of the Tibet regional government, said the airport would allow more people in other parts of the country to take flights to the autonomous region.

The airport, together with more railways and
highways, would help to boost investment and tourism in Xigaze, Hao added.

It would the fifth civil airpot to be operational in
Tibet, after Lhasa, Qamdo, Nyingchi and Ngari, according to Xu.

It also is among the 180 key projects in which the central government invested more than 70 billion yuan (10.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the five years through 2010.

People celebrate theinauguration of construction work of the Peace Airport on opening ceremony, April 29, 2009. (Xinhua/ Chogo)
Photo Gallery

The Bangda Airport of Qamdo is 4,334 meters above sea
level, making it the highest airport in the world.

China is also building a 254-km railway linking
Xigaze with the regional capital Lhasa. Construction on the 11-billion-yuan
Qinghai-Tibet railway's extension line started in 2008 and was expected to be
completed in 2010.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, running 1,956 kilometers
from Xining city in Qinghai province to Lhasa in Tibet, was officially put into
operation in July 2006. It is the highest railway in the world and ended Tibet's
history without railway.

Xigaze, in southern Tibet, has an population of
680,000 and is home to such renowned tourist sites as Sagya and Baiqoi
monastories.

China to build regional airport in
largest desert

URUMQI, April
18 (Xinhua) -- An airport for regional flight services will be built in 2015 in
the hinterland of China's largest desert, Taklimakan, in the northwestern
autonomous region of Xinjiang, a source with Xinjiang Airport (Group) Co., LLC,
confirmed Saturday.

The project will cost 290 million yuan (42.46 million U.S.
dollars), Duan Zixin, general manager of the company, said. Full story

Sanjiangyuan Airport to adopt RNP
technology for navigation


BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhuanet) -- The nearly completed Sanjiangyuan Airport,
Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Northwest China's Qinghai Province, will
adopt the technology of required navigation performance (RNP) for airport ground
movement guidance and control.

The RNP technology, most advanced in China, with a Global
Positioning System (GPS) and aviation computers, can ensure accurate flights
according to the preset course, effectively improving flight safety. Full story

Shangri-la Airport to open in May
after extension


BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The
Shangri-la Airport in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's
Yunnan Province, is expected to open next month.

The extended airport will have an annual handling capacity
of 1.2 million person-time passengers and 9,600 tons of cargo, according to the
airport General Manager's Office Thursday. Full story