Tibet starts building 5th civil airport

Xu Xueguang, secretary of Xigaze prefectural Party committee, said: "The civil airport will be an air corridor linking Xigaze with the outside world and inject new vigor into local social and economic development."

Photo shows a blueprint of the Peace Airport, Xigaze  Prefecture, southwestern Tibet. (Xinhua Photo)

Hao Peng, vice chairman of the Tibet regional government, said the airport would allow more people in other parts of the country to take flights to the autonomous region.

The airport, together with more railways and highways, would help to boost investment and tourism in Xigaze, Hao added.

It would the fifth civil airpot to be operational in Tibet, after Lhasa, Qamdo, Nyingchi and Ngari, according to Xu.

It also is among the 180 key projects in which the central government invested more than 70 billion yuan (10.3 billion U.S. dollars) in the five years through 2010.