China plans to build world’s highest airport in Tibet

LHASA - China plans to construct the world’s highest airport in Tibet, officials said Tuesday.

The new airport will be built at an altitude of 4,436 metres, Xinhua news agency reported.

Xu Bo, director of the Tibetan Branch of the China Civil Aviation Administration, said the airport planned to be built at Nagqu prefecture would be 102 metres higher than Bamda airport in Tibet’s Qamdo prefecture, which has been the world’s highest airport since its completion in 1994.

Xu Jian, director of the Nagqu Committee of Development and Reform, said construction of the airport had been included in Tibet’s development plan. The committee was working on site selection for the airport.

“The airport construction is planned for 2011 with a construction period of three years. It is expected to cost 1.8 billion yuan ($263 million) and cover an area of 233 to 266 hectares,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the airport would be the sixth in Tibet.

An official said all of Tibet’s six prefectures would have an airport on its completion.

“The civil aviation network in Tibet has taken shape. The objective for the next stage of development is to open direct air routes from Tibet to south Asian countries,” the official said.

Nagqu, about 300 km from Lhasa, is located in the centre of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

“With the airport, Nagqu, which is also on the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, is expected to become the centre of an economic hub in the plateau region,” said Tan Yongshou, commissioner of Nagqu Prefecture.