The number of civilian airports in the eastern region of the country will be increased to 38 from the current 33 by the end of 2005.

According to a recently-released five-year plan by the East China Branch of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, or the regional aviation industry watchdog, a total of 7 billion yuan (US$843 million) will be invested for the construction of aviation infrastructure and purchase of equipment during the period.

The five new airports, all planned for feeder routes, will be located in Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang and Fujian provinces.

In addition to this, four existing airports in the cities of Wenzhou, Ningbo, Jinan and Qingdao - all for trunk lines - will be expanded to meet the demands of the growing traffic volume.

Moreover, some small airports in Yantai, Huangshan, Quanzhou and Ji'an will either be renovated or expanded over the same period.

The government forecast shows that the passenger and cargo volume in the east is likely to increase year-on-year at a rate of 10 percent and 15 percent, respectively, in each of the five years, with yearly figures hitting 62.35 million passengers and 2.7 million tons of cargo by the end of 2005.

Last year, a total of 38.88 million passengers and 1.35 million tons of cargo were transported out of the 33 airports in the region.

Industry officials emphasized that only a small part of the 7-billion yuan investment will come from central government sources with the majority likely to be financed by local governments and enterprises, and if possible, overseas loans.

(Eastday.com 02/27/2001)