The airport, with state-of-the-art telecommunications navigation equipment, ground safety system and services, had been found to meet the conditions for accepting foreign airlines, said Ma Yong, director of the port authority which operates under the supervision of the General Administration of Customs.

The formal opening will be announced with approval from the country's customs authorities.

Meilan, completed in May 1999, is China's eighth busiest airport and was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange last year, becoming the second Chinese airport to have its shares traded overseas.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2003)