China to spend $3.34-B for new airports, aircraft

China will spend RMB 26 billion (about US$3.34 billion) to construct airports and buy new aircraft this year involving 33 key projects. A substantial amount of the investment will be poured into the expansion of the Beijing Capital International Airport in time for the 2008 Olympics. Other airports that will be used during the Games will also be expanded. These are Tianjin Binhai Airport, Qinhuangdao Shanhaiguan Airport, Qingdao Liuting Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and Shenyang Taoxian Airport. China will purchase 155 aircraft this year and retire 25 for a net increase of 130 aircraft. Also this year, Chinese airlines are expected to fulfill transport throughput of 34.8 billion ton-km, passenger traffic volume of 187 million, and cargo/mail traffic volume of 3.85 million tons. These figures will be 15 percent, 16 percent and 12 percent higher compared to 2005, and will allow China to retain its position as the second biggest civil aviation country in the world after the United States. From January to November last year, Chinese airlines logged in transport throughput of 27.56 billion ton-km, up by 15.4 percent on a year-on-year basis. Passenger traffic volume also reached 146.67 million and cargo/mail traffic volume totaled 3.09 million tons, higher by 15.3 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively, compared to 2005 figures. It is estimated that, for 2006, China’s transport throughput would reach 30.2 billion ton-km, passenger volume of 160 million and cargo and mail of 3.42 million tons.