China will start work on new airport infrastructure worth 250 billion yuan (US$36.6 billion) in 2010, the nation's top aviation official said on Wednesday.

Total investment in airports under construction this year is expected to reach 100 billion after the launch of additional new projects and will double next year, Li Jiaxiang, head of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, told Xinhua.

The agency will increase investment on projects mainly in the southwest this year, Li said, without providing any figures.

The spending is part of the 4 trillion yuan stimulus package unveiled by the State Council, or cabinet, on Sunday to spur economic growth.

The agency planned to kickstart construction of airport infrastructure in large cities including Chengdu, Xi'an and Guangzhou and more than 40 other mid-sized cities in 2009.

It also planned to build new airport facilities in Shanghai, Wuhan and Nanjing and more than 20 other mid-sized cities in 2010.

China had 152 civilian airports as of the end of 2007. The number will reach 190 in 2010 and 244 in 2020, under a government plan released early this year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 12, 2008)