China targets huge regional airport expansion

China plans to spend US$62.5 billion on building 97 new regional airports by 2020, the Financial Times reported. In approving the plan, the government stipulated that 45 of the new airports must be completed by the end of 2010. The massive investment is part of efforts to meet soaring domestic passenger and cargo traffic, which are projected to see annual growth of 11.4% and 15% respectively between now and 2020. The growth in passenger demand would see the number of airports serving more than 30 million people a year rise from three to 13. According to the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), the goal is to have 82% of the 1.3 billion population living within 100 kilometers or 90 minutes’ drive from an airport. The current figure is 61%. However, experts warn that congestion problems will remain as long as there are shortages in skilled airport personnel. There are also concerns that building small airports will just create more inefficiency.