Chongqing, the largest metropolis in western China, is building a citywide civil aviation network which comprises four airports.
Wanzhou Airport, built at a cost of 450 million yuan (US$54 million), will open in June and be able to handle 250,000 passengers annually. The figure is planned to double in future.
Plan for Qianjiang Airport will be submitted to the authority in February, said an official with Chongqing Civil Aviation Administration. He predicted that work on the airport would start in October and the airport would open by the end of 2006.
The expansion of Jiangbei International Airport is well under way. When the airport reopens by the end of 2004, it will be able to handle 7 million passengers a year.
A second international airport in Chongqing Municipality is on the drawing board. It is intended to alleviate the pressure on Jiangbei Airport.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2003)
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