China to Have 244 Civil Airports by 2020

BEIJING, November 12, SinoCast -- China will have 244 civil airports in total by 2020 with an increase of 97, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the nation's aviation regulator, lately announced in its new national civil airport blueprint.

And these new airports will be scattered in north China, east China, mid-south China, southwest China, and northwest China. 26 of them will be situated in northwest China, where there is estimated to reach 50 in all, in addition to previous 24.

In 2008, the CAAC plans airport construction spending of CNY 11.7 billion. It recently makes four policies about medium- and small-sized airports, regional aviation subsidies, subsidized loans for infrastructure, and local airport construction subsidies. It intends CNY 9.3 billion for airport construction subsidies this year.

By the end of 2006, there had been a total of 147 civil airports in China excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. China had had few air hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.