The new terminal building at Urumqi International Airport began operations Thursday in the capital city of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The terminal is one of the 10 state-listed key projects to be built in western China during the 2001-2005 period.

The new building, built at a cost of 640 million yuan, covers an area of 47,800 square meters and is capable of accommodating two wide-body planes and six smaller aircraft at a time.

China's fourth largest international airport in the 1980s, Urumqi airport has been expanded several times, however it has failed to cope with the growth of passenger and cargo transport with the rapid development of the local social and economic development.

Currently, the airport handles four million passengers and 41,350 tons of cargo annually. It is linked with 99 domestic air routes and 14 international routes.

( Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2002)