China'S fourth biggest airport will be built in Kunming by 2010 for more than 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion).

Located in the capital city of Yunnan Province, the airport is an important link to southeast Asian and Eurasia, according to the planning division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Chinanews.com.cn reported yesterday.

Once the airport is built, it will have four runways and 108 gates. The first new runway is expected to be operating by 2009.

The airport will be capable of handling 380 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of goods a year by 2020, the report said.

According to an earlier report in the 21st Century Business Herald, passenger numbers in the old Kunming airport are increasing every year and the airport has reached its limits.

The province will also spend more than 100 million yuan building other new airports and renovating some older facilities.

The new Kunming airport will be the fourth largest in the country, after the Beijing, Shanghai Pudong, and Guangzhou airports.

(Shanghai Daily September 9, 2008)