The CAM, a company that runs the Macao International Airport, has signed a cooperation agreement with the Yunnan Airport Group, in a bid to develop new flight routes and boost Macao airport's decreasing passenger and cargo movement, the Macao Daily Times reported on Thursday.

From January to June this year, Macao International Airport's passenger movement plummeted by 60 percent, according to the statistics from the CAM.

The new agreement will see the Macao International Airport join hands with the Wujiaba International Airport in Kunming, capital of China's Yunnan province, providing more convenience to tourism and commercial travel between the two places, according to the daily.

The CAM also hoped to overcome Macao International Airport's poor operation performance by launching new routes and promoting cooperation, such as the one with the Yunnan Airport Group signed Wednesday in CAM's offices, according to the daily.

"We target any airlines to fly between the two cities," the daily quoted Suning Liu, executive director of the CAM, as saying.

Liu also said that her company expected the Macao International Airport to handle some 4.5 million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo this year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2009)